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A 4PS B&M QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENT MENT ON BUSINE BUSINESS NE N SS L LLEA
LEADERS EA EADE DE D RS
KANWAL REKHI
Managing Director,
Inventus Capital
KEVIN PARIKH
CEO and Partner, Avasant
SASHI REDDI
Founder & CEO, AppLabs
GLOBAL INDIAN
CORPORATE
LEADERS
TEN INDIANS WHO MADE IT BIG ON THE
FOREIGN SOIL IN THE ARENA OF BUSINESS
VOL-1 ISSUE-3 JULY-12
THOMAS D. ZWEIFEL
CONSULTANT & AUTHOR
MANAGING
DIFFICULT
TIMES
JUSTIN COHEN
AUTHOR & SPEAKER
IT’S ABOUT
BUILDING
RELATIONS
BRAND PRETORIUS
CEO, MCCARTHY LIMITED
LEADERS
ARE RESULT
ORIENTED
ALSO INSIDE:
R. BUXANI, S. K. VIRMANI,
R. LULLA, M. PARASAR, P.
HAJI, D. C. PALIWAL
ASHWIN NAVIN
Chairman, Co-founder & CEO, Flingo

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BEFORE THEY HATCH
Jim Kouzes
Bestselling Author, Award
winning Speaker
“I really like the latest
issue of Count Your
Chickens Before They
Hatch on transformational
leadership. It really
pops, and the content
looks great. Dealing
with contemporary topics,
it was quite interesting
to read the industrial
inputs from the
mouth of well-known
leaders. Keep up
the good work with
high spirit and zeal
and make readers
knowledgeable.”
AND THEY SAID...
“CYCBTH is quite impressive
from the content
& presentation
point. And I am sure
that middle and senior
managers can benefi t a
lot from reading this
magazine. Last issue on
transformational leadership
featuring some
of the greatest role
models who are a real
inspiration for this
generation, was fantastic.
I wish all the best
to the whole team.”
Rajendra Pratap Gupta
Global thought leader on
Healthcare & Public Policy
Roger Harrop,
International Speaker,
Author, Mentor, Advisor
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BEFORE THEY HATCH
“What a great issue
on transformation
and change management!
If only every
business leader of
every business, big or
small, were to read
these great words
and recognise that
change is constant,
unremitting and,
rather than a threat,
a great opportunity
to differentiate. Great
magazine – keep up
the good work.”
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A 4PS B&M QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENT ON BUSINESS LEADERS
RAJEEV KARWAL
Founder & CEO- Milagrow
Please send your feedback to: sray.agarwal@iipm.edu
NARAYANA MURTHY
Chairman Emeritus- Infosys
CORPORATE
TRANSFORMERS
THE LEADERS WHO REDEFINED BENCHMARKS FOR
THE CORPORATE WORLD THROUGH THEIR ART OF
TRANSFORMATION
GANESH NATARAJAN
Vice Chairman & CEO,
Zensar Technologies
WILFRIED AULBUR
Managing Partner- Roland Berger
XERXES DESAI
MD Emeritus - Titan
VOL-1 ISSUE-2 APR-12
JAGDISH KHATTAR
CMD- Carnation Auto
MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
LEADERSHIP COACH
CHANGE
YOUR
BEHAVIOR
PHIL EASTMAN
AUTHOR & SPEAKER
CHARACTER
BASED
LEADERSHIP
RONALD RIGGIO
CLAREMONT INSTITUTE
WHY IT
WORKS
AND HOW?
GOVIND SHRIKHANDE
Managing Director- Shoppers Stop
M K ANAND
CEO- UTV Broadcasting
“Congratulations on the
publication of “Count
Your Chickens Before
They Hatch.” It’s a
great name with great
content. It immediately
made me think about
being positive. Similar
to the phrase “Start
with the end in mind.” I
thought all the articles
were useful for leaders
in any business. I feel
certain you will be a
bright light in the publishing
arena. I wish
you much success.”
Wally Amos,
Founder, Read it LOUD!

CONTENTS
08
COVER STORY
TRANSFORMING BREAKDOWNS
INTO BREAKTHROUGHS
Thomas D. Zweifel
Consultant, Author and Professor
1O
IT’S THE RELATIONSHIP, STUPID
Justin Cohen
International Speaker and Author
33
LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT RESULTS....
Brand Pretorius
CEO, McCarthy Limited
17
GLOBAL INDIAN CORPORATE LEADERS
Sashi Reddi 20
Ram Buxani 22
Dinesh C. Paliwal 23
Suresh K. Virmani 24
Kanwal Rekhi 25
Kevin S Parikh 26
Priya Haji 28
Rajiv Lulla 29
Ashwin Navin 30
Mohit Parasar 31
count your chickens before they hatch 4 july 2012
EDITORIAL
Break the board 5
FLASH POINTS
Yahoo! hacked 6
Business leader of the year 7
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
"Open market is indeed good
for any country"
Amitabh Taneja
Founder and MD, Images Group 12
"Our long history has taught us
to be patient"
Paolo Bertazzoni
President and CEO of Bertazzoni 13
"....Titles are really important"
Robin Sharma
Author, Speaker, Consultant 14
FAIR FORWARD
"Being a woman, I have witnessed
advantages like less rudeness" 16
Vidya Srinivasan
Senior Vice President, Genpact
INTERNATIONAL COLUMN
Essential of trusted advisors
Bill Bachrach 32
Cover Design by Ashvin Chitroda
34
TRAINEES TRAIN THE C-SUITE
Sray Agarwal
Consulting Editor

AN ICMR-IIPM THINK TANK PUBLICATION
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A 4PS B&M QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENT ON BUSINESS LEADERS
VOL 1 ISSUE 3 JULY 2012
editorial & research
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ARINDAM CHAUDHURI
CHIEF CONSULTING EDITOR: PRASOON S MAJUMDAR
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Namita Chhetri
CONSULTING EDITOR: Sray Agarwal
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PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENT: Amir Hossain, Nidhi Gupta
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BREAK THE BOARD!
It’s common in Britain, the organic
growth of dual position in public
companies of chairman and CEO
forming the basis of executive positions
of the top management. The fl owing
trend of this is yet to form majority
in United States, even though it’s growing
and it is being widely held by the
governance experts. The increased ferocity
of the collapsing fi nancial system
in a number of US fi rms like Tyco (TYC),
Marsh & McLennan (MMC), AIG (AIG),
Fannie Mae (FNM), and Walt Disney
(DIS) has necessitated changes in governance
structure to placate the stakeholders by introducing separate chairman
and CEO. Though the number is growing in United States it is still just
37% of S&P 500 companies. The creation of a separate Chairman will provide
another answer to the management solutions and do away with unchallenged
decision of the CEO.
A changed mind-set to split the management between chairman and the
CEO is refl ected in an ever ubiquitous pattern that has already formed a
majority practice among the Standard & Poor 1500 composite index in United
States. In UK, the independent director is a rarity, where they are increasingly
adopting a new plan viz. appointing an outside independent director
as a non-executive chair. A convention in 2004, organized by the National
Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), embraced 50 experienced CEOs,
board members, and FIIs, who revealed: one-third favouring a split, one-third
in favour of an independent director, and the remaining for non-executive
chair. It strongly corroborated a tectonic shift of business governance in
America! The instances of high profi le fi rms adopting a split are plenty. The
CEO and Chairman of Siebel Systems, Tom Siebel is surrendering his CEO post
to ex-IBM fi x-it man J. Michael Lawrie. Walt Disney’s top executive, Michael
Eisner, who was holding both the top posts is relinquishing his chairman
title to the former US senator George Mitchell. George Mitchell on the other
hand will place in his CEO post in Dell Computer to his subordinate, Chief
Operating Offi cer, Kevin Rollins. Then, Larry Ellison of Oracle allowed his CFO
Jeff Henley to take former’s chairman position while retaining the CEO title.
And most publicized case of Bill Gates turning over his CEO post in Microsoft
to Steve Ballmer in 2000, have been the cases of American fi rms adopting the
split for greater good of the organizations.
The splits also have been a long-running struggle to insulate fi rms from
the fi nancial scandals. This is also a saviour to comply with the governance
guidelines drafted out by New York Stock Exchanges and National Association
of Security Dealers and to count the organizations against the troubling fi -
nances. The founder making way for an experienced CEO allows the founder
to think strategically and allow the executive to run the show albeit both
remaining involved. Therefore should we adopt British corporate governance
system in the heart of 21 st century? The answer should be – Yes!
count your chickens before they hatch 5 july 2012
EDITORIAL
Namita Chhetri
Executive Editor
(SMS your views with your name and topic to 0-9818101234)

FLASH POINTS
INTERNATIONAL
Yahoo stated to technology
blog Tech-
Crunch, that "Approximately
4,00,000 Yahoo!
and other company users'
names and passwords"
were stolen
in July 11, 2012.
$4.4 BILLION
LOSS
The biggest bank
in the US, JPMorgan
Chase & Co
has posted mammoth
credit trading
losses around
$4.4 billion. The
company has cited
bad debts responsible
for
such a huge loss.
The Eurozone crisis has not only
stirred the local economy but also
has created misfortunes for many
other multinational conglomerates. For
instance, General Motors' European business
including brands like Opel and Vauxhall
has booked a loss of $256 million in
the fi rst quarter. To tackle the problem,
Karl-Friedrich Stracke, the CEO of European
wing, General Motor, presented a
new plan to rebuild the struggling brands
few weeks back. But the CEO abruptly resigned
on July 12, 2012 during this turnaround.
Analysts have predicted that GM's
upper management is becoming more impatient
with the slow pace of change in
Europe. GM Vice-Chairman Steve Girsky,
the head of Opel's Board of Directors and
a company troubleshooter, will serve as
acting chief of European operations.
count your chickens before they hatch 6 july 2012
YAHOO! HACKED
Hacking as a phenomenon has largely entered
the corporate world too. The very recent
instances of Nvidia and Yahoo Mail being
hacked resurface the question of information safety.
Nvidia was attacked by hackers who extracted
400,000 encrypted passwords and user information.
Nvidia has suspended its software developer forum
after attackers compromised an unknown number
of the login passwords used by its 400,000-strong
user community. The company described the breach
“as affecting a small proportion” of the users but
nevertheless recommended that individuals should
change their logins once the forum is online again.
Similarly, around 450,000 accounts were hacked
from Yahoo where the hackers hacked the older fi le
from the Yahoo Voices (formerly Associated Content)
and gained access to user information.
BACK BURNER SOCIAL MEDIA RIGIDITY
W hile
the whole world
has been blown by
the boom of social
media and it has been widely
accepted that social media
"provides tremendous opportunity
for business" but still
Fortune 500 CEOs ignore social
media presence. A recent study
conducted by CEO.com has revealed that 70 per cent of
Fortune 500 CEOs are not connected to any social network.
Only 19 Fortune 500 CEOs have an account on
Twitter. Currently LinkedIn favors many CEOs at 25.9
percent, and Facebook falls in second place at a 7.6 percent
presence from CEOs. The study has also warned
that CEOs need to step into the limelight of social media
if they want to see their companies grow successfully.
AMERICA'S HIGHEST PAID CEOs
(FORBES 2012)
Rank Name Company 1-Year Pay ($mil)
01 John H Hammergren McKesson 131.19
02 Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren 66.65
03 Michael D Fascitelli Vornado Realty 64.41
04 Richard D Kinder Kinder Morgan 60.94
05 David M Cote Honeywell 55.79

NATIONAL
BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR
Indian real estate mogul and the chairman and CEO
of DLF Limited, Kushal Pal Singh Teotia a.k.a K.P.
Singh has been conferred the "Indian Business
Leader of the Year" by Horasis on June 26, 2012. Horasis
- The Global Visions Community is an independent
international organization committed to enacting
visions for a sustainable future. The organisation,
which hosts a global India business meeting in the
Belgian city every year, honoured Singh at an event
in Antwerp for his vision and entrepreneurial skills
that have transformed India's real estate landscape
and propelled DLF into the global arena. The award
was conceived to recognize the achievements and excellence
of Indian business leaders who promote leadership,
sustainability, value creation, innovation,
growth, global reach and economic performance.
THE HIGH PERFORMER
Amidst alarming infl ation, ever
increasing scams, constant corruption,
there is one good news
for India that Indian stocks have been
emerged as the seventh best performer
for global investors since the start of
2012 as per a ranking by Bank of America
and Merill Lynch. Indian stocks have
been able to outshine the likes of the US,
UK, China and Japan. Indian stocks have
given a year-to-date return of 12.3 per
cent which is only next to six other asset
classes globally.
THE GLOBAL INDIAN LEADER
The excellent effort towards the US-India growth
story, Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing
Director of Mahindra group has been
awarded with Global Leadership Award which was
given to the Indian and US business leaders at the 37 th
anniversary leadership summit of the US India Business
Council (USIBC) comprising the top 350 US and Indian
companies. This award was provided as Mahindra
Group has continuously invested in American agricultural
sector in huge quantities. Since Mahindra Group
started investment in US, the company had grown 20
times over and sold upto 10,000 tractors. These awards
underlines the USIBC’s appreciation of the importance
for deepening manufacturing collaboration between
the world’s largest free market democracies. In the
same lines, USIBC's new Indian American chairman,
Ajay Banga, MasterCard Worldwide President & CEO
has called on both nations to push for a Bilateral Investment
Treaty.
count your chickens before they hatch 7 july 2012
INNOVATIVE
STATE-OF-THE-
ART PROJECT
Delhi-Mumbai Industrial
Corridor
(DMIC), a mega
infra-structure project,
has been placed as the
second most-innovative
project among the 100
most innovative projects
as per the Global advisory
fi rm KPMG. DMIC is one of
the most ambitious
projects to be undertaken
in India in recent years. A
massive $90 billion project
that envisages the transformation
of a large tract
of land stretching across
nearly 1,500 km and linking
the two metros (Delhi
and Mumbai) aims to
boost industrial and economic
development in
the country. It is planned
on the lines of the Tokyo-
Osaka industrial corridor.
According to a Union
Commerce Ministry offi -
cial the corridor within
fi ve years of its completion
will deliver a 15%
increase in employment,
a 28% increase in industrial
output and 38% increase
in exports. On the
other hand, approximately
180 million people (14
percent of the population
of the region) will be affected
by the corridor’s
development.

INTERNATIONAL COLUMN
TRANSFORMING BREAKDOWNS
INTO BREAKTHROUGHS
IF PEOPLE HAVE THE COURAGE TO PERCEIVE A BREAKDOWN
AS AN OPPORTUNITY THEN BREAKTHROUGH HAS TO
HAPPEN PRECISELY
THOMAS D. ZWEIFEL
Consultant, Author and Professor based at Switzerland
One leadership skill often ignored but essential
in a crisis — is that great leaders, from Moses
to Mandela, manage to transform breakdowns
into breakthroughs. In fact, breakdowns are a
leader’s most underrated allies. If we analyze and harness
them correctly, they become raw material for breakthroughs.
The book Breakthroughs! by Nayak and Ketteringham
found that thirteen groundbreaking innovations,
from Nike to Club Med, from Nautilus machines to
Fed-Ex, from the Walkman to the VCR, from the CAT
scanner to the Post-It, all arose like Phoenixes from the
ashes of breakdowns when originally conceived.
But most of us fall into one of four traps when the
going gets tough: Shame, Blame, Hope or Hedge. While
these pitfalls are only human and perfectly understandable,
each is counter-productive.
Pitfall #1: Shame: Because we see breakdowns as
negative, even shameful, we avoid giving bad news to
superiors or colleagues, and keep it secret. Whether it is
a failed client presentation, a faulty product, or being
behind on a deadline, our instinct is to try fi xing it before
others fi nd out. But the costs of hiding breakdowns can
be huge.
Pitfall #2: Blame: Breakdowns are inevitable stations
on the leader’s journey, but can make you rip out your
hair, chew your nails, or yell in uncontrollable rage at
everyone around you. Though a leader’s ultimate test is
how he or she copes in a crisis, the smartest CEOs have
been known to regress and throw temper tantrums
when the world seemed to turn against them. Jeffrey
Skilling was so famous for his tongue-lashings that Enron
employees were simply too afraid to tell him the
truth. Even whistle-blower Sherron Watkins expressed
her concerns only anonymously — and she was one of
the brave ones.
“You could only go in with good news.” Whoever gave
bad news risked being blamed or fi red: the directors
simply killed the messenger.
Pitfall #3: Hope: Everybody simply waits, hoping that
the breakdown will somehow disappear “if we just let it
be.” It probably won’t. But often nothing happens, espe-
count your chickens before they hatch 8 july 2012
cially in organizations where people pass the buck, unless
someone takes charge and cuts through the apathy.
A survey of failed CEOs found a surprising commonality
among them: they wait instead of facing a breakdown
head-on. “What is striking, as many CEOs told us,
is that they usually know there’s a problem; their inner
voice is telling them, but they suppress it. Those around
the CEO often recognize the problem fi rst, but he isn’t
seeking information from multiple sources.” Such attachment
to old solutions is, of course, the exact op-

posite of what would transform the breakdown into a
breakthrough.
Pitfall #4: Hedge: Perhaps worst of all, you change
(and usually lower) your goals instead of stretching to
fi ll the gap. But far from being the problem, the commitment
is in fact the solution. Whenever you commit to a
vision, you are bound to face a gap between present and
future. In fact, breakdowns cannot exist without background
commitments. If you are not committed to anything,
you may have problems (perhaps turn into a vegetable),
but you will not have breakdowns (or accomplishments)
of size.
In fact breakdowns are directly correlated to breakthroughs.
When Pfi zer tested Sildenafi l, trials of the new
heart medicine showed unwelcome and huge (forgive
the pun) side effects: Male patients experienced increased
blood fl ow to the penis. The drug enhanced the smooth
muscle relaxant effects of nitric oxide, a chemical normally
released in response to sexual stimulation.
If Pfi zer managers had been ashamed, if they had conspired
to keep the failure a secret, if they had done nothing
and waited, or if they had wavered in their commitment
to make a blockbuster drug, they would have
preserved the status quo and lost the company lots of
money invested on R&D. Instead they made noise, and
to make a long story short, out of a breakdown — a malfunctioning
heart drug — a breakthrough was born. The
count your chickens before they hatch 9 july 2012
THOMAS D. ZWEIFEL
"THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE:
THOSE WHO SEE DIFFICULTY IN EVERY
OPPORTUNITY, AND THOSE WHO SEE
OPPORTUNITY IN EVERY DIFFICULTY"
new drug posted $1 billion in sales in its fi rst year and
became a household name: Viagra.
So how do you turn adversity into assets? It’s a very
simple 3-step process:
Step 1: Declare the Breakdown: The fi rst step is to
make the breakdown public and interrupt business-asusual.
Your declaration of the breakdown forces you and
your key stakeholders to confront the gap between current
and desired performance. A breakdown in this context
is not a thing; it is a speech act, a wake-up call that
puts you back in the driver’s seat.
Step 2: Assert your Background Commitment: Keep
in mind your underlying goal, without which there
would be no gap. By declaring the breakdown, you serve
public notice that it’s unacceptable in relation to a particular
commitment. Remember, and remind others,
why everyone committed to the goal in the fi rst place.
What would be missing in your lives, organization or
society if you stopped?
Step 3: Search for Options and declare the Breakthrough:
Once you have declared the breakdown and
recommitted your team to the original goal, the third
step is to brainstorm extraordinary actions. Don’t be
afraid to rattle people so they shift focus, think newly,
and see unconsidered opportunities to fi ll the gap between
the status quo and the desired result.
One night many years ago, when Philip Anschutz laid
the groundwork for what was to become a multi-billion
dollar fortune, he got a call. A drilling supervisor at one
of his Wyoming oil rigs gave him the bad news: the well
was on fi re. And if the fi re kept burning, it would bankrupt
him.
Common-sense crisis management in such a case is to
limit your exposure, sell off the bad investment and get
out of there quickly. Anschutz did the exact opposite.
He saw the bright side: the fi re meant he had fi nally
struck oil. He rented a plane, fl ew to Wyoming, and by
8:00 A.M. the next morning gambled more money on his
oil venture — a lot more. He bought as much land around
the burning well as he could. He hired Red Adair, a legendary
oil-fi eld fi refi ghter, to put out the blaze, and
invited a Hollywood studio to shoot the episode for the
John Wayne thriller “Hellfi ghters.” In a New York Times
interview Anschutz said, “There’s always a point that if
you go forward you win, sometimes you win it all, and
if you go back you lose everything.”
According to Churchill, “There are two types of people:
those who see diffi culty in every opportunity, and those
who see opportunity in every diffi culty.” What we need
now is the latter type.

INTERNATIONAL COLUMN
IT’S THE RELATIONSHIP,
STUPID
LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT BUILDING STRONG
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WHICH HELPS
THE LEADER TO WIN OVER THE PEOPLE
In answer to how elections are won in the USA,
Bill Clinton famously answered: ‘It’s the economy,
stupid’. But actually the secret to winning
in politics, business and life in general is through
building strong relationships. In a television show, I
interviewed Dr John Maxwell – a leadership consultant
to George Bush. Maxwell has written a best-selling
book called the 21 Irrefutable laws of leadership.
That’s a lot of laws to get through so I asked him
which was the most important. He said with out a
doubt, the law of connection. Great leaders build relational
bridges to others. You only have to look at
American Presidential elections to see that the leader
who is best at the law of connection will almost
always win the election. Remember Bill Clinton? He
was the master connector – Clinton connected a little
too much.
On the 27 th of July 2004, a largely unknown black
senator from Illinois gave a speech at the Democratic
convention called ‘The Audacity of Hope’. The US
was on the verge of expecting to see its fi rst black
president. At this point Americans were understandably
not rushing out to Christian their children Hussein
or Saddam. Barack Obama wasn’t just black, he
had a Muslim father from Kenya.
What I didn’t clarify back then is that something
transcends prejudice; it’s called emotional connection.
Listen to him speak and you feel as if Barack is
talking directly to you, empathizing, reaching out,
coming over to your side. He seems to really care and
to coin that old American proverb, ‘People don’t care
how much you know until they know how much you
care.’ You demonstrate that care through your words
but even more through your emotions. We all know
words can lie emotions are more diffi cult to fake. And
so you don’t just talk about policies and processes,
you talk about others and their pain and you talk
about it as if it’s your pain. And when you paint a vision
of tomorrow you don’t just lay out tactics and
strategies, you paint them into that picture as you
light up with excitement. Emotion is contagious.
JUSTIN COHEN
International Speaker and Author
count your chickens before they hatch 10 july 2012

That’s why you can hear a speech of fi ne words but if
it conveys no emotion it leaves you cold. If one is not
convinced you genuinely care about him, why would
he trust you with his future? Notice the word ‘genuine’
your emotions have to be authentic, it can’t be
pretense. People see through that.
When asked from the audiences, who in South Africa
is the master connecter they always answer:
‘Nelson Mandela’. Even watching him on TV you can
feel his warmth. In person, he makes you feel like the
centre of his world.
Many studies report that as much as 90 per cent of
career or business success depends on our social
skills. When it comes to success in romance, marriage
or parenting that of course climbs to close on a 100
per cent. We live in a celebrity-obsessed world that
adulates the individual, yet the self made-man is a
myth. We are all people-made-people. The royal road
to our greatest dreams is lined by people, how we deal
with those people will determine whether we get to
our destination or not. You’ve heard the old saying:
‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’ The way
it should really go is: ‘It’s not who you know, it’s how
you treat who you know.’
We didn’t come out of the womb with our social
skills they had to be developed. Some of what we
learnt has stood us in good stead but by changing
some of it we may greatly increase our infl uence in
the world. Here are ten people powers designed to
help you build better relationships.
1. Choose your response: If we are to take on any
new behavior we will have to make a conscious
choice. Eventually the new behavior will become
a habit and we will do it naturally but initially we
will have to stop our habitual reaction and choose
to respond in a better way.
2. Make them the center of your world: Making
someone else the center of the world requires us
to override our own natural self-centeredness and
shift to a them-centeredness. We do when we give
them our full attention, use their name frequently
and take a real interest in them.
3. Express appreciation: The number one reason
people give for leaving their jobs is ‘lack of recognition’.
The number one reason wives divorce their
husbands is ‘lack of appreciation’. Our greatest
psychological need is the need for social validation.
Be liberal with sincere compliments.
4. Power listening: One of the most powerful ways
to tell someone how much you appreciate them is
not to tell them but instead to listen, really listen.
That may be a bigger compliment than anything
you say.
5. Know what you want: The best way to get what
you want out of a relationship is to help others get
what they want. But you also need to know what
you want and communicate it clearly. The art of
communication is not how well you say something
it’s how well you are understood.
6. Be polite, patient and persistent: When people
don’t do what we want, we become frustrated and
impolite but by doing so we mess with their selfesteem,
making it even less likely that they will
do what we want. You can say anything in a way
that is polite. They may not always do it immediately
that’s why we need to be patient and persistent.
7. Respect their free will: When you make a demand
you ride over people’s free-will. Always try
to frame a request as a choice, even a tight one,
for example: ‘Would you prefer doing it now or
later today’. That gives people a sense of control.
8. Express positive expectations: Treat people as
they can be and that’s what they become capable
of being. Remind the people that you work with
them because they are honest, hard working and
committed. They may not always live up to your
expectations but they are far more likely to than
when you don’t make your expectations clear.
9. Focus on making it right rather than being right:
Ever got into an argument and in the middle wondered
what you were arguing about? That’s because
most confl icts have less to do with a substantive
issue and more to do with two vulnerable self-esteems
trying to build themselves up by breaking
the other down. Focus on your objective: what
would make the situation right, usually it begins
with an apology.
10. Do what you say: Rather under-promise and overdeliver.
When you don’t follow through on a promise
you’re really saying: ‘You aren’t important.’
Take something as simple as returning a phone call.
I am amazed at how often people simply don’t give
each other that courtesy. Being ignored can be more
insulting than being slandered. At least when you are
slandered you can defend yourself, when you are ignored
you are not even accorded that dignity. If you’re
ignoring them, it’s probably because they’re not important
to you, on some level you’ve decided you can
get nothing from them. In the same light, consider
the defi nition of class. Class is not style, pedigree or
money, class is how you treat someone who is no use
to you. That’s what shows humanity, compassion and
conscience. Besides, as the old saying goes: Careful
how you treat people on the way up, you might meet
them on the way down. And if you fi nd yourself on
the way down and you’re wondering why, it’s the relationship,
stupid!
count your chickens before they hatch 11 july 2012
JUSTIN COHEN
"WE LIVE IN A CELEBRITY-OBSESSED
WORLD THAT ADULATES THE INDIVIDUAL,
YET THE SELF MADE-MAN IS A MYTH. WE
ARE ALL PEOPLE-MADE-PEOPLE"

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
"OPEN MARKET IS INDEED
GOOD FOR ANY COUNTRY"
HEAD OF THE IMAGES GROUP, AMITABH TANEJA
TALKS ABOUT HIS JOURNEY AND FUTURE OF
RETAIL INDUSTRY IN A CONVERSATION WITH
HARSHITA SINGH
Amitabh Taneja has founded Images Multimedia
Pvt Ltd in 1992 and has served as its Managing
Director. Mr. Taneja serves as the Chairman of
Images Fashion Forum and India Retail Forum
which host India's leading industry conferences in these
fi elds. He serves as Director ICSC India by the International
Council of Shopping Centres, New York. Mr. Taneja
has been Non Executive Independent Director of Provogue
(India) Limited since October 20, 2005.
Tell something about Images Group.
A retail intelligence organisation with publications,
research, education, events, awards and retail support
services, the IMAGES Group (established in
1992) has played a vital role in organising fashion
and retail businesses in India and has successfully
set up an information exchange via media.
How your retail magazine is different from other
magazines, which talks about retail and textile
in a different manner?
We cover every aspect of retailing especially shopping
center, food, fashion and many more on the
same horizons. Our magazine is basically for those
people who are well-connected with the retail sector.
Moreover, we organize events on fashion,
food, textile and beauty but everything on retail related
only.
Do you have an online portal for shopping?
On line portal is extension of our magazine and
events, which basically covers researches on retailing.
Our site www.indiaretailing.com is designed as
an exceptional online interface aimed at the retailing
community across the world, providing a wide analysis
of the business of retail in India. Interactive
features such as interviews, chats and business development
tools apart, it also contains exclusive and
investigative editorial content. Our fast-paced portal
is focused and highly dynamic and it has an ambitious
philosophy.
Do you only focus on national retail industry or
is there any specifi c plan for global
market also?
We have few magazines which are entitled with international
companies, and cover global content on
Amitabh
Taneja,
Founder
and MD,
Images
Group
count your chickens before they hatch 12 july 2012
retail. For example, Salon International brings a 360
degree know-how of the industry — from trends to
styles, salon management to new products, news to
interviews, merchandising strategies, HR training,
and much more. We would like it to be a platform to
help and bring joy to the daily creativity in developing
the business of beauty, and also to defi ne best
practices in this very dynamic retail category.
How did you play a game to elaborate people
about how changes are good or bad?
Our magazines are in market from last 10 years, and
every time we put new content to help the people
into retail. We are prompting people with good
thoughts which are best practices in national and
international market. Biggest change that I have
witnessed in retailing is shopping malls from few
high street markets like South extension and Bandra
linking road. We have done extensive research
on how malls will be benefi ted out of India and viceversa.
At present, there is an intriguing debate on
allowing FDI in the retail industry in India. As far as
my opinion on the subject matter is concerned, allowing
FDI in retail would be a good positive move
which would eventually benefi t India and the Indian
consumers more than anyone else. Consumers in
India will get new products, new ideas of business,
maximum profi t, better pricing, better services and
further employment. Open market is indeed good
for any country.
What is the future of retail market?
Now people think that retail is very tough business,
but once corporate realise that there is great opportunity,
more and more people will be attracted
towards the industry.

count your chickens before they hatch 13 july 2012
PAOLO BERTAZZONI
"OUR LONG HISTORY HAS TAUGHT US TO BE PATIENT"
PAOLO BERTAZZONI, THE FIFTH-GENERATION CEO OF 130-YEAR OLD PRECISION-ENGINEERED
KITCHEN LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS REVEALS HIS PLANS IN INDIA OPERATION TO NIDHI GUPTA
Starting his professional career in a manufacturing
business, Paolo Bertazzoni entered his family business
under the tutelage of his father. Using the top
designers from Milan, Paolo has expanded the company's
international presence to more than 60 countries
worldwide.
You are running a business which is the world’s
oldest family-owned company (130 years old).
How easy or diffi cult it is to run such a business
set-up?
Our company is the oldest Italian manufacturer of
home appliances, it is still owned and managed by the
same family through six generations, I represent the
fi fth one. It is our pride and at the same time it takes
a great responsibility. The responsibility of each generation
is to understand and interpret the times they
are leaving.
Europe is going through a very critical condition
but what make you think that you can achieve a
revenue growth of 18% this fi scal year 2012?
Well, I do agree to the fact that the European economy
is going through a slowdown and is at a very critical
stage but amidst all the diffi culties, we are putting all
Paolo
Bertazzoni,
President
and CEO of
Bertazzoni
efforts in achieving by year end 20 per cent growth
backed by our niche marketing and brand value. Having
a strong export base we are confi dent that this
excellent result will be achieved.
Were there any design or functionality changes you
had to bring in particular if we speak about India
before launching your products here?
We have our presence in lot of countries. The basic
designing of the entire kitchen appliance range remains
the same which also includes its functionality.
The only changes which we are required to incorporate
when we launch an appliance in another country outside
Italy, are based on the different legislations on gas
and electrical standards. Pricing of the appliances
could vary according to the custom and logistical aspects
typical of each country.
What is it about Italian design that consumers
worldwide fi nd so attractive?
Italy is a country with a rich culture and heritage attached.
The picturesque monuments and architectures
around the country had been witnessed by the entire
world. With the world’s best designers present in Italy,
everything we make comes with style and elegance.
And, that is longed by the consumers worldwide.
Your products are meant for high-end customers
and Indian market comprise of middle class people.
What was the aim behind coming to India? How
much research was done before launching your
products in India?
Approaching a big and far away market such as India
needs the support of a strong local partner. We have
found it in Hafele India, and we have shared with them
the right amount of our and their knowledge to make
this venture work.
What are the various challenges that you face in
this industry?
There are many challenges now-a-days for the appliances
industry. Competition is very strong in the lower
end of the market, our challenge is to keep our positions
in the higher segment, where the end users are
more and more exacting and knowledgeable. Of course,
product performance, exclusive fi nish, tedious attention
to detail and quality are also must.
What are your future plans with respect to expansions
in India?
We plan to be displayed in the most exclusive showrooms
and high-end building projects across the Indian
sub-continent. After all, our long company history
has taught us to be patient and do things properly
rather than taking haste decision.

SPECIAL FEATURE
".....TITLES ARE
REALLY IMPORTANT"
WORLD FAMOUS AUTHOR AND SPEAKER ROBIN
SHARMA TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TITLE IN
AN ORGANISATIONAL SET-UP
Robin Sharma is an author. He has written 11 books;
including "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" and "The
Greatness Guide." His latest book is "The Leader Who
Had No Title: A Modern Fable On Real Success in Business
and in Life". As a consultant, he has severalClients including
Microsoft, GE, NIKE, FedEx and IBM.
New leaders emerge, they are young and the goal
seems so near, yet so far. How can the young leader
sustain his/her path towards the achievement of his
goal?
I've seen start-ups with fresh ideas – innovative thinking
has been happening for at least a decade across India. For
the new mindset, the path towards sustainability is to create
value, establish facilities with new technology, create
work spaces where people love to come to, and develop
leaders along the way.
Change, you've indicated, involves being systematic.
Doesn't it kill creativity?
If you study the lives of Stephen King or John Grisham,
they sit at their desks at 5 am, and have ritualized it. Many
great artists work that way. They didn't live in the moment.
Let planning be the springboard, so that spirituality
can be our splash. I wake up early and do pretty much
all things on schedule three days a week. The other days,
I switch off all communication channels, divorce myself
from the world, create an uninterrupted block and then,
read, dream...
And you were inspired by the people you've met: Steve
Jobs, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and your children...
What did you learn from them?
I learn from them to be a great dreamer — our lives refl
ect the signs of our thinking; to stand for excellence at
every point and to be the kindest and the most courageous
person.
Most people are trained to graduate College, then
fi nd a job and climb the corporate ladder in hopes
of becoming the CEO one day. Do titles really matter
"POSITIONS AND A FORMAL STRUCTURE ARE
VERY MUCH NECESSARY TO THE SUPERB
RUNNING OF AN OPERATION"
Robin
Sharma,
Author,
Speaker,
Consultant
count your chickens before they hatch 14 july 2012
that much?
I’ll be the fi rst to say titles are important. Positions and a
formal structure are essential to the superb running of an
operation. We need people at the top setting the vision
and holding ultimate accountability. I’ve learned that in
my work with organizations like GE, NIKE, FedEx, IBM and
Yale University. Having said that, what I’m suggesting is
a business’ core competitive advantage now comes down
to getting every employee to Lead Without a Title. To view
themselves as the CEO of their own small business unit
that is their job. By doing this, people will shift from being
a victim to becoming a virtuoso. And each teammate will
drive innovation, customer wow and exceptional results.
If a Vice President emails a manager, they will respond
faster. Can a title also close doors?
I don’t think titles close doors in business but they do close
minds.

Here’s what I mean. Too many employees go to work
each day and excuse being world-class in their work because
they don’t have a title. They are half-alive to their
work and clock punchers versus icon builders. Yet, the
message in “The Leader Who Had No Title” is that each
one of us not only now has the opportunity to show leadership
in our work — we have the responsibility to do so.
In stunningly successful businesses, everyone sees themselves
as part of the leadership team (Google is a strong
example). My encouragement is to remember that few
things make you feel better that the pride you feel on a
job brilliantly done. So Lead Without a Title. Innovate.
Model excellence. Be unreasonably ethical. And be the
most passionate person in every room. Big rewards will
fl ow to you.
Companies, especially the successful ones, change
their workforce structure a lot. How can
someone take advantage of this change to become
more successful?
Drucker said it well: “shift from a focus on problems into
a focus on opportunities.”
That sounds like common sense but it’s not common
practice. So yes, businesses are facing a lot of disruption
right now. But disruption is the beginning of innovation.
Now is not the time to hold back. It’s the time to take some
smart risks, bring genius-level value to as many people as
possible, leverage social media to grow a cherished brand
and leave a trail of leaders behind you. Many of the FOR-
TUNE 500 began in The Great Depression.
Like Julian Mantle, there are many professionals in
India who lead lives packed with work,
deadlines and parties. What advice would you like to
give them?
Please don't be so busy that you miss out on what's most
important in life. Yes, reach out for your best and fi nd
success, but also remember that no obituary ever said, 'He
died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his accountant,
his stockbroker and his lawyer.'
How have you built your own personal brand?
What does it take to become known in over 50 different
countries?
My books have been my calling card. They have become
word of mouth phenomena. And after businesspeople read
them, they call our shop and want us to help them grow
Leaders Without Titles within their organizations. I have
also evangelized the Lead Without a Title brand in over 50
countries through an intense speaking schedule. Few
things are as powerful as connecting with people's live
since authenticity and passion is contagious. I also do a
ton of media interviews as I like the scale that allows. As
well, we leverage the digital/social media to grow our
base of followers. I fuel my Twitter addiction daily and
play on FaceBook and the other usual suspects.
You have written many books. You also give lectures
to corporate houses on leadership and life management.
What are your plans for the future?
I have been overwhelmed by the response of Indian companies
who have engaged me to do leadership development
programmes with them. I not only write books,
but also spend most of my time helping companies develop
leaders.
I work with companies like Nike, Microsoft, IBM and
Fedex. I also want to make music with a positive
message. I play the guitar. I would like to bring out a
CD someday. I want to get more involved in peace efforts
too.
count your chickens before they hatch 15 july 2012
"NO OBITUARY EVER SAID, 'HE DIED PEACEFULLY
IN HIS SLEEP SURROUNDED BY HIS ACCOUNTANT,
HIS STOCKBROKER AND HIS LAWYER'"
(Reprinted with permission)
ROBIN SHARMA

FAIR FORWARD
Vidya Srinivasan is Senior Vice President and the
Infrastructure & Logistics Leader for Genpact. In
her earlier role, she was a Senior Legal Counsel
at Genpact.
What were the major challenges that you have faced
during your long journey?
Starting my career as a lawyer, ‘what is next to do’ has
always been remain as a challenge. At the same time,
building and upgrading new skills with the pace of constant
change is another challenge. Building new skills
in yourself and helping your subordinates to acquire
all those skills are very necessary as it helps to do new
things in the most convenient way and it helps to keep
yourself motivated.
What factors do you attribute to the success
of Genpact?
As we know that human resources is the main factor
for the success of any organisation especially in the
BPO industry. So, we take lot of chances on people. We
would like to set a crazy target for every employee to
achieve our as well as employee’s goal.
How has strong Six Sigma background helped you
in building strong processes based on the Genpact's
commitment to Integrity, Compliance, Controllership
and Data Security?
Six sigma always helps us to make proper structure
for what we do. Being a BPO organisation, we need to
deal with a lot of data and need to work across the
globe. So, Six Sigma is very necessary in such an in-
"AS CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT
FACTOR, ONE NEEDS TO UPGRADE HIS/HER
SKILLS WITH THE PACE OF THE CHANGE TO
BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE BPO INDUSTRY"
"BEING A WOMAN, I HAVE
WITNESSED ADVANTAGES
LIKE LESS RUDENESS"
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF GENPACT,
VIDYA SRINIVASAN SHARES ABOUT
ADVANTAGES THAT SHE FELT BEING IN
TOP MANAGEMENT AS A WOMAN IN
AN INTERVIEW WITH AMIR HOSSAIN
count your chickens before they hatch 16 july 2012
dustry to bring Integrity, Compliance, Controllership
and Data Security.
Regarding safety concern for women in working
environment, what are the steps being taken
by Genpact?
This is a completely misstating fact that women harassment
is a problem of only BPO industry. The problem
exists even in government organisations but people
perceive BPO industry unsafe for women as it is working
in an unusual way. There are few things that we
have implemented in Genpact to ensure additional security.
We ensure that every cab drops employees next
to the door. Moreover, Genpact has strong policy on
compliance and integrity and we have a process called
ombuds person where any employee can complain for
any kind of problems.
Have you faced any kind of gender specifi c discrimination
being a woman?
As such I have not faced any challenges or biasness being
in top management. Instead of that I have witnessed
advantages like less rudeness that people are soft over
any issue that a lady is in the room.
How do you view transformational leadership in
your own career and among your peers?
We know very well that change is constant. So we have
to constantly change or upgrade our skills with the pace
of the change. Without acquiring the required skills, it
is very diffi cult to be successful. Moreover, when there
is change, resistant comes automatically. But somehow
at some level resistant is good as it helps to scrutinize
the whole issue.
What kind of leader are you?
I do always believe in democracy. So, I am very much
liberal to my colleagues or peers or subordinates.
If someone comes with a new idea then I appreciate
them after having an detailed discussion on that particular
issue.

COVER STORY
GLOBAL
INDIAN CORPORATE LEADERS
A subcontinent with over billion people,
22 offi cial languages, 6 major religions with
different taste and preferences, forms a
perfect glass house to grow a 21
count your chickens before they hatch 17 july 2012
st century’s
global corporate leader !
BY Mrinmoy Dey

As the globalisation take a full-fl edged shape and with
domestic markets in the developed countries more or
less saturated, the companies especially in the developed
world are forced to look out for opportunities
beyond their home nation and go global. The realities
of globalisation coupled with increasing emphasis on
the emerging markets has presented corporation with
enormous challenges of developing and fi nding leaders
who can manage a global entity. Many of the Multi-
National Companies (MNCs) still concentrate vital decisions
in the hands of a few trusted leaders from their
home country. They hire local experts, technician and
country managers but rarely promote them to corporate
bodies. However, this trend is fast changing. As
long as the companies were selling standardised products
in the developed nations, the strategy worked. But
when it comes selling of customised products and the
companies which have emerging markets as the main
engine of growth the above approach turned out to be
far from adequate.
In a situation like this, the company is required to
adapt to local culture and market needs. To make sound
decisions, companies need a diverse set of leaders, comprising
diverse nationalities, who have deep understanding
of the local cultures – especially the emerging
markets. In this context, Atlanta-based soft-drinks company
Coca-Cola has been a pioneer in geographic diversity.
As early as in the 1960s, the company was run by a
South African – Paul Austin. Since then Cuban, Australian,
Irish and Turky-American was at the helm of the
corporate leader at Coca-Cola. In the same lines, Swiss
company Nestle’s executive board comprises of personalities
from ten different nationalities whereas 80% of
Norvatis executives come from outside Switzerland.
Interestingly, leaving all the other nationalities from
emerging markets behind, it’s the Indians who were
once deemed as slow moving executives good only at
taking directions and executing orders, are coming to
the foray to establish themselves as global leaders and
mounting to the top of the corporate ladder at the big
MNCs. As per a study conducted by Egon Zehnder, “S&P
500 companies have more Indian CEOs than any other
nationality except American.” Similar trend echoes at
another study conducted by two professors from Wharton
and China Europe International Business School –
C-suite executives in the 2009 Fortune 500 list comprised
of 13 Indians as compared to two mainland Chinese and
two North American Chinese. From Vikram Pandit at
Citi Group to Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo to Anshu Jain at
Deutsche Bank, Ajay Banga at Mastercard, Harish Manwani
at Unilever and Rakesh Kapoor at Reckitt Benckiser
the management story of the last decade can, arguably,
be labelled as the story of the Indian manager
breaking through the glass ceiling at global companies.
COVER STORY
count your chickens before they hatch 18 july 2012
India’s 10 prominent leaders at the helm of MNCs together
manage business worth over $400 billion – almost
double the total export of India in a year.
This phenomenon raises a question – why are the
Indians being preferred as a CEO, COO or for the top
leadership position in these global corporations? To
understand this one needs to be clear about the role of
a global leader is ought to play. Global leadership is not
entirely about doing business abroad but it's more
about managing an integrated enterprise across borders
where the corporations are more likely to encounter
different cultural, legal, regulatory and economic
systems and the hurdles of overcoming these barriers.
Lack of adaptability may prove costly for a company as
was found out by Wal-Mart in Germany and South Korea
where the company eventually had to exit from the
market in 2006.
What are the rationale behind Indians performing
better than the rest in this race? According to global
HR major Hay Group, the technical skills and the behavioural
patterns of Indians make them adaptable to
any kind of situation they come across. First, to successfully
manage such an entity requires a global mindset
and one of the key traits that defi ne global mindset
is ‘inquisitiveness’. Interestingly, this basic orientation
towards new experiences is more of an inborn trait
rather than being a learnable one. Indians score very
high on this particular skill-set being born in a multicultural
nation where they are born and bought up in
a particular culture (say east), relocate to another cultural
region (say north) for studies and then end up
starting their career in another cultural region (say
south). Consequently, the Indians are found to be more
inquisitive in nature. They have to adapt to new friends,
new places and these provide with the perfect breeding
ground for global executives who would be facing new
markets and uncertain conditions. Vindi Banga (who
was on the executive board of Unilever and currently
a Partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice) and Ajay Banga
(CEO of MasterCard) had a similar story to tell. Being
son of a lieutenant general in the Indian army, they
moved to their father’s new postings every couple of
years which turned out to be the perfect training for
becoming a global leader.
Second, organisations worldwide have widened the
range of their search for the perfect leader to run the
business entity. Earlier markets were comfortable and
so they were confi ned to their own countries. Now they
are making a deep search and are looking at talent outside
their countries. They now need persons with global
experience and leadership qualities to handle tough
and fast changing markets. Indians fi t in the bill because
of the rigorous education systems and increasing
global opportunities at work.
TECHNICAL SKILLS AND THE BEHAVIOURAL PATTERNS OF INDIANS MAKE
THEM ADAPTABLE TO ANY KIND OF SITUATION THEY COME ACROSS

Third, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in the global
economic order with the developing countries especially
the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and
South Africa) nations becoming the key driver of
growth in the 21st Century. These markets provide
with enormous opportunities for the corporations
worldwide. However, the skill-sets required in running
operations in these countries are very different than
those required in running business in the developed
nations. As India and China are one of the fastest growing
economies, it makes sense to have a leader from
these two nations. However, China is a unique country
and there would be more countries that have similarities
with Indian business environment than nations
similar to China. Additionally, India is much tougher
market to crack. While Chinese government works
towards making the process predictable, India is much
more volatile. There is an old say about Asian business
cultures – the Chinese roll out the red carpet; Indians
roll out the red tape. Unlike the Chinese, Indian counterparts
have to deal with its byzantine bureaucracy.
Therefore capabilities build in doing business in India
will help you win all over the world. In the words of
Stephen Elop – CEO of Nokia, “India is like a petri dish
for innovation. If we win here, we can win everywhere.
Conversely, if we lose here, we could end up losing in
lots of other markets.”
Fourth, Indian CEOs are used to working in a resource
constraint environment. They always try to do more
with less. They understand the real value of resources
and always try to make optimum usage of the scarce
resources. Growing up in a nation where resources are
often tight "forces you to blow through the constraints
and fi nd the answer," says Nikesh Arora, Google's senior
vice president and chief business offi cer.
Fifth, Indian CEOs are more focused on returns and
executions. The Indian business scenario is dominated
by family run businesses which are niggardly in the allocation
of capital, thus managers tend to have a value
orientation and a strong focus on return on equity.
Sixth, Indian managers have a better overview of
the whole business and always tend to look at the bigger
picture while taking an important decision than
their western counterparts. Indian CEOs work more
towards execution rather than just giving direction.
Additionally, Indian CEOs tend to put long term goals
ahead of short term gains. How Vikram Pandit bailed
the Citicorp out of recession would be a case in point
here. Although one can argue that he ended up destroying
the company’s value as the share price has
fallen from around $350 to $30 during his tenure; but
the real fact is that it was largely because of his predecessor’s
over enthusiastic eagerness in investing in
complex derivative instrument. On the contrary, Pandit,
to his credit, not only pledged to draw a salary of
$1 till the time company turns profi table before the
Congress but successfully delivered fi ve consecutive
quarterly profi ts before drawing any compensation
from the company.
Additionally, innovations and creative thinking coupled
with their expertise in the language of global business
– English, helped their cause further. Moreover,
Indians have a strong business ethics and a sense towards
the greater good. A leadership survey conducted
by the Hay Group revealed that Catholic nuns and
monks are the only group that scored as high as Indian
CEOs on inner strength and moral values. So, is sky the
limit for Indian CEOs? Not so fast, they have a lot to
learn still. Among others, the most important thing for
them is to understand that what works well on home
will work abroad too – a mistake that most of the expat
CEOs in India made. Moreover, the number of CEOs
capable of making the transition to being a global CEO
is also a matter of worry with the gap between top quality
corporate leaders and median CEOs widening. If
Indians can take care of these few concerns, we would
see more and more Indian CEOs storming the corporate
boardroom across the world.
count your chickens before they hatch 19 july 2012
L to R: Vikram
Pandit – CEO at
Citigroup; Ajay
Banga – CEO at
MasterCard and
Vindi Banga –
former executive
borad member of
Unilever

COVER STORY
SASHI REDDI
A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR AND INVESTOR, SASHI REDDI, CARVES DEEP IN HIS
MEMORIES AND RELIVES HIS SPLENDID VOYAGE OF EMBARKING SEVERAL
START-UPS IN A CONVERSATION WITH NIDHI GUPTA
FOUNDER AND CEO:
AppLabs which was
acquired by CSC in
September last year
and act as Head,
Independent Testing
Services at CSC to
facilitate the acquisition
2008: Founded FXLabs
Studios and served
as its CEO, it was later
acquired by Foundation
9 Entertainment
ALSO FOUNDED: iCoop
Inc. and EZPower
Systems
“EXHAUSTIVE RE-
SEARCH DOES NOT
REALLY GUARAN-
TEE ANY SUCCESS"
Having an applaudable academic
background, many would like
to strive for a job in a big
MNC. What prompted you to go
out of the league and become an
entrepreneur?
After my PhD at Wharton, I had a
great job offer to work as an options
trader at a top notch bank in
London and Hong Kong. At that
time I was approached by a friend
with a great technology idea and
so I got tempted to jump into building
a company on our own. So my
leap into being an entrepreneur
was not planned. If I had stopped
and thought about the career
choice I was making, who knows, I
might have had second thoughts.
But at that time, I was young and
very excited to work with my
friends to try and build a great
product and a great company.
US and Indian markets are poles
apart from each other but you
have tapped both the markets by
venturing into various projects
like AppLabs (now acquired by
CSC), SriCapital and Hyderabad
IN THE US YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BETTER PRODUCT
TO WIN WHILE IN INDIA YOU NEED TO BE BETTER
AT OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO WIN
count your chickens before they hatch 20 july 2012
Angels respectively? In your
opinion which market is diffi cult
to start a business?
Both the US and India have their
own challenges. In the US, the
challenge is to fi nd a completely
new idea and try to execute it– so
it is the challenge of the markets
and competition. In India, the challenge
is to overcome various infrastructure
and legal challenges to
be able to focus on building a business
– so it is the environmental
challenges. But in either place, like
anywhere in the world, there are
huge rewards for success. In the
US, you have to have a better product
to win. But, in India you need
to be better at overcoming obstacles
to win and survive.
How much research work
you had done before launching
these companies?
Of the 4 companies I have started
so far, 2 companies (iCoop – a
group purchasing dotcom and FX-
Labs – India's leading game company)
were started after doing a lot
of market research. iCoop was a
complete failure when the dotcom
bubble crashed. FXLabs was acquired
at a low valuation by Foundation
9 Entertainment which was
looking for an Indian backend studio.
The two companies that I

started without doing any research
(EZPower – web content management
product company and AppLabs
– software testing company)
both had successful exits with investors
making a lot of money. So
doing too much research does not
really guarantee any success. It is
fi nally about the market conditions
and how well you execute it.
What prompted you to sell your
signature company AppLabs?
AppLabs raised money in 2004
from Westbridge Capital (later renamed
Sequoia Capital India) from
a fund that was closing in 2010. So
I had to fi nd an exit for my investors.
I was initially thinking of selling
their stake to a PE. We had a lot
of interest from PEs but suddenly
we also got interest from various
strategic buyers who wanted to
acquire the whole company. When
CSC came forward with an aggressive
offer we felt that it was the
right time to sell the company. I
am very happy that the 2,500 staff
of AppLabs are now working for a
world class company like CSC. My
Series A investors got a 10X return
in 6 years.
How do you differentiate your
company from the rest of
your competitors?
AppLabs was the leading pure-play
testing company. While most IT
companies did many services, we
focused exclusively on testing. This
made us the experts in the fi eld
and we won over many large
vendors due to our differentiation
as the leading testing company in
the world.
India has a huge potential and
every foreign company wishes to
invest here. What according to
you could be major reason for
this inclination?
India does have tremendous potential
but many foreign investors
are in "wait and see" mode because
there seems to be a lot of uncertainty
regarding tax laws in India.
Unless we have clarity in our laws
without retroactive actions, we
will not be able to attract the investments
we need for the development
of our economy.
count your chickens before they hatch 21 july 2012
What is your leadership mantra
and management style?
Delegate extensively but micromanage
the 2-3 key things that can
make or break your company. I am
a big believer in getting the company/product
positioning right so
this is an area that I normally handle
personally.
What would you like to be called
as – an entrepreneur or an investor
and why?
I consider myself as an Entrepreneur.
My angel investing is only a
way to stay in touch with great entrepreneurs.
What are your future plans?
My current focus is to complete
the integration of AppLabs into
CSC. I am in no hurry to make new
plans right now. My role at CSC as
the head of its testing services
division is keeping me busy. I am
also having fun doing a lot of angel
investing and facilitating new
ventures. I get to meet great entrepreneurs,
see innovative ideas,
have intelligent discussions with
young people.
Mr Sashi
Reddi with
Mr Brian
Manning,
President
and
MD, CSC

COVER STORY
RAM BUXANI
“INDIA & JAPAN
STARTED AT SAME
TIME – ACHIEVE-
MENTS DIFFER”
NIDHI GUPTA INVIGORATES THE GOLDEN JUBILEE MAN OF DUBAI, DR.
RAM BUXANI, FOUNDER & CEO, ITL GROUP TO DISSECT THE INDIAN
ECONOMY VIZ-A-VIZ MIDDLE-EAST
FOUNDER & CEO: ITL
Group
PROMOTER: IndusInd
Bank Ltd, India
CHAIRMAN: Veeram
International Ltd
Board of IndusInd
International Holdings
Ltd., Mauritius
BOARD: Al Razouki
International Exchange
Co., Dubai.
How has been your journey from
Baroda to Dubai?
While tottering on path of my life,
I never set any goal for me. I am
greatly infl uenced by a sage who
said that life should be taken as it
comes to you. Plan it by all means.
But do not get disheartened if your
plans don't work.
You have been inclined towards
the Japanese style of working.
What according to you is making
them unique and admirable?
Yes, I have been inclined towards
Japanese way of working. Until very
recently they believed in a single
job throughout life. We would never
hear a Japanese changing his job.
That gives lot of consistency in running
an organisation. India and Japan
started moving upwards almost
same time around 1947. What a difference
in achievement! I rarely see
insubordination in Japanese. While
average Indian always wants to
lead. Japanese PSI (Purchase, Sales
and Inventory) control is indeed a
system to envy about. The way India's
valuable stock of food grain
remain shelterless shows our marketing
weaknesses. A Japanese will
sell it out at any price instead of
getting eaten by rats.
What has been the cornerstone in
Dubai's development – government
or corporations?
count your chickens before they hatch 22 july 2012
It is always Government and Rulers
of this great City State that has been
cornerstone in the growth of Dubai.
I don't agree that development in
India has been poor. Yes, our spread
is not even. Certain states have
done too well. Others have not been
that progressive. Because of generally
unchecked large scale corruption
back in India, very little portion
of the funds shown on paper
actually fi nd their way in implementation
of the projects. The urban
lot has to involve actively in
electoral process while rural
population needs to understand
political designs being drawn to exploit
them.
The condition of infrastructure
is in very bad shape in India when
compared with many other countries.
Who do you think is responsible
for this?
There is big scope of infrastructure
development in India. Unfortunately
not everything allotted for this
sector is used for it due to corruption
at various levels.
Your message to budding entrepreneurs
and leaders.
One should keep away from greed
and one should not move to diversifi
cation at the cost of neglecting
core activity. And be within
budget instead of spending on mirage
gains.

DINESH C. PALIWAL
"CEO’S BIGGEST CHAL-
LENGE IS ATTRACT-
ING AND MOTIVATING
GREAT LEADERS"
DINESH C. PALIWAL, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HARMAN INTERNATIONAL
(NYSE:HAR) EXPRESSES HIS CONCERNS IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEARING
GLOBAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND REVEALS HIS FUTURE PLANS
You have worked in almost all
regions of the world. How is business
and management different
in India compared to the West?
Traditionally, India has been a society
where organisational roles
are very rigidly defi ned and this
has a detrimental impact on the
culture of innovation. Fortunately
however, this style of management
is losing ground and Indian companies
are adopting a more inclusive
approach. Fewer layers in the management
hierarchy help reduce
costs, and also ensure that good
ideas don’t get lost in its ascent to
the top.
How did you revamp ABB
from a loss making unit to a
profi t making?
My work at ABB was heavily focused
on simplifi cation and common
global processes by tearing
down the “silos” which fragmented
the group’s businesses. As head of
ABB’s automation business, I transformed
eleven different business
units across the company’s global
operations into just three “lean and
mean” divisions.
What are your concerns as a CEO,
in the light of the nearing global
economic slowdown?
In both good times and bad, I believe
a CEO’s biggest challenge is
attracting and motivating great
leaders and innovators. My job is to
make sure that Harman can compete
in any economic environment.
We will continue to carefully watch
our costs and simplify our structure,
but the real key will be continued
cutting-edge innovation
that differentiates Harman from its
competitors and keeps customers
coming back for more.
What is your strategy for Harman's
future and how do you
plan to take it to its pinnacle?
Our strategy is built on four main
pillars: First, we will grow sales of
our “smart” infotainment systems
which are increasingly helping today’s
“connected generation” take
their favourite media, entertainment
and information on the road.
Secondly, we will increase penetration
of our automotive audio systems
– built on great brands such
as JBL, Harman/Kardon and Infi nity
– to help customers enjoy the
same premium sound in the car
that they have long admired at
home. Third, we will continue to
increase our activities in the
emerging markets – targeting some
$1.5 Billion in BRIC country sales
by 2015, compared to just a
few tens of millions when I
joined Harman. Finally, we will
continue to focus on cost and capital
management.
count your chickens before they hatch 23 july 2012
HARMAN
INTERNATIONAL
INDUSTRIES, INC.:
Chairman, President
and CEO
WORKED AND LIVED:
in six countries on
four continents,
including the US, China,
Switzerland, Singapore,
Australia, and India
ON THE BOARD: of Tyco
International, American
India Foundation (AIF)

COVER STORY
BHAWAN ENGINEERING
GROUP (BEG): Managing
Director, Oman
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD: Won at CW
Awards 2012
PRAVASI BHARATIYA
SAMMAN AWARD:
Received in 2010
1977: Landed in Muscat,
Oman as the fi rst
employee of BEG
SURESH K. VIRMANI
"THERE WAS NO
CONCEPT OF
PROJECT FINANC-
ING IN INDIA"
SURESH KUMAR VIRMANI, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BHAWAN
ENGINEERING GROUP, CANDIDLY TALKS TO HARSHITA SINGH ABOUT HIS
INTRIGUING JOURNEY FROM INDIA TO OMAN
What are your thoughts on the
Omanisational front?
We fi rmly believe in meaningful
Omanisation and we believe that
Omanis have the fi rst right to employment.
The young Omanis, like
any other community, need handholding
to become experts. We put
trust on them and provide them
genuine opportunities and are always
ready to hold hand.
What kind of challenges and
hurdles have you faced in your
long journey?
There are many challenges that we
have faced but one thing that I
would like to highlight is fi nancing
problem. It was easier and more
convenient to raise funds in Oman
compared to India. In the late
1970s, there was no concept of
project fi nancing in India. Although
having a very attractive
and feasible project plan, our fund
raising initiative was rejected by
four leading banks. At last, we were
able to close the deal in Canara
Bank after having a very blistering
discussion. Moreover, performing
consistently to retain ‘Numero
Uno’ position in construction industry
is another challenge.
You started the company with 14
employees and today it employs
more than 15,000 people. How
count your chickens before they hatch 24 july 2012
do you manage such a huge
task force?
Managing such a huge task force is
always a challenge. But we do believe
that if we take care of our
employees, our employees will also
look after us. First, we do focus on
one thing whether the dreams of
the employee are getting fulfi lled
or not. If an employee comes from
overseas, he/she immediately
needs a good accommodation.
Some of the employee have an aspiration
to send their children to
USA for higher studies. So, we keep
record for each of these things and
try to fulfi ll them. Moreover, we
even provide fi nancial assistance
when required. We feel a huge
pressure in the time of promotion
as we try to be very fair to each
and every employee.
What are your future plans?
As the construction business is
becoming very competitive day by
day in Oman (and India) due to
emergence of local players and
bee-lining of global players, we are
looking forward to expand our
geographical presence across the
globe especially in Qatar and Libya.
Qatar has a lot of potential due
to its ambitious development plans
as the country is going to host
FIFA 2020.

KANWAL REKHI
“IN INDIA, SIMPLE
THINGS DON’T
WORK WELL MOST
OF THE TIME"
PIONEER OF THE ETHERNET NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY, KANWAL REKHI,
SHARES HIS VIEWS ON DIFFERENCES IN ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT
IN THE US AND INDIA WITH NIDHI GUPTA
Tell us something about your
experience as co-founder and CEO
of Excelan.
It was a hard but exciting journey with
no role models and mentors. I made the
cardinal mistake of partnering with my
friends. It was an acrimonious break up
that caused me a lot of heart ache.
It was an exciting time as it was the
dawn of PC computing and computer
networking was looming as an opportunity
that we latched onto. We pioneered
TCP/IP and Ethernet. They
eventually became building blocks of
Internet. We did succeed in spite of our
mistakes. We did have a successful IPO
in 1987.
In India, many technology start-ups
have had a hard time in getting the
next round of funding. Is it true that
it is diffi cult for technology driven
start-ups to get funding in developing
countries like ours?
Second round of funding is tougher to
get than the fi rst. The fi rst round can
be based upon a good story and salesmanship.
The second round is based
upon the achievements since the initial
funding. One has to defi ne fi nancially
sound milestones and deliver on them
to get the next round. Initial funding
has to produce enough tangible results
to inspire the additional funding.
How different is the working condition
in West from India?
Working conditions in these two countries
are totally different. US is an orderly
society where things work well
all the time, India is chaotic society
and simple things don’t work well
most of the time. Entrepreneurial
echo-system is very well developed in
US, especially in Silicon Valley and
Boston. One has to be a whole lot more
self reliant in India.
How do you foresee the role of a
leader in the 21 st century especially
in India?
Leaders in 20 th century were fi xated on
poverty and wealth re-distribution.
This has kept India backwards. We
need economically literate leaders who
are focused on wealth creation. We
need to see some self-made people
emerging as leaders, rather than scions
of the political dynasties.
To retain talent in a growing company
is very challenging. What is
the best way in which one can address
this issue?
Early employees have to be treated as
partners with fair amount of stake in
the company. Attracting, motivating
and retaining talent is the main job of
the entrepreneur. One has to develop
a fair, success oriented culture that
values performance over everything
else. Entrepreneur has to hold himself
accountable to higher standard than
he expects from others.
count your chickens before they hatch 25 july 2012
CURRENTLY: Managing
Director, Inventus
Capital
1989: Sold Excelan to
Novell and became EVP
at Novell
1982: Founded Excelan
in partnership with his
friends
CO-FOUNDER: The IndUS
Entrepreneurs (T.i.E.), a
venture fi rm

COVER STORY
KEVIN S PARIKH
KEVIN S PARIKH, FOUNDER & CEO OF AVASANT – AN IT AND BUSINESS
PROCESS OUTSOURCING COMPANY, REVEALS HOW AVASANT SAILED
THROUGH THE FINANCIAL CRISIS PERIOD
CURRENTLY: CEO and
Partner of Avasant, A
BPO company
EARLIER: Served as
Vice President of
Gartner Consulting
SPECIALISED AT BPO
& ITO SOURCING
AGREEMENT: was
involved in more than
300 outsourcing deals
– transactions ranging
from US$20 million to
US$2.5 billion
“I WAS FORTUNATE
TO WORK UNDER
THE CLINTON
ADMINISTRATION"
You have been involved with
more than 300 outsourcing
transactions including billion
dollar plus deals. What are the
factors you always keep in mind
before executing such deal?
There are three key yet very simple
rules to negotiating a successful
outsourcing transaction:
� Ensure Alignment of Vision: Both
the buyer and provider must understand
the strategic fi nancial,
and operational objectives.
� Align Executive Support: Relationship
and buy-in from the key
executives for both companies
must be present to ensure a successful
deal.
� Build for Value: Outsourcing
service is not a procurement
function. Transactional success
means getting real value from
the deal, not only the lowest
cost.
How do you foresee Indian outsourcing
industry vis-a-vis huge
challenges from China
and neighboring countries?
India continues to be a leader in
the services space for outsourcing.
I expect that this advantage
will continue through 2025. Although,
China’s BPO and ITO private
sector continue to grow and
become more profi cient in out-
count your chickens before they hatch 26 july 2012
sourcing services, China still only
represents a fraction of the Indian
market. Moreover, India should
continue to dominate the outsourcing
space due to breadth and
depth of its talent pool.
Will this election, in the US,
would harm Indian outsourcing
industry or is this just a political
gimmick?

It is hard to say. Local government
bodies in the US are experiencing
heavy budget cuts due to diminishing
Federal funding and rising
costs. This budget pressure is forcing
government to consider all
options, including some Offshoring.
That said, where local options
are available, you can be sure that
work will not be sent overseas.
Prior to joining Avasant, you
were Global Vice President with
Gartner Consulting. What was
the motivation and idea behind
starting Avasant?
Gartner is a great company, but
like all large institutions, it can be
diffi cult to change the fi ber of the
culture. I recognised in early
2002, that the future was not in
Information Technology, which is
Gartner’s focus, but in what technology
represents. Technology,
through the internet, communications
and cloud has become the
pathway for globalisation and
economic integration. As such,
the primary driver for starting
Avasant was to go beyond IT
consulting and to tackle the
strategic challenges presented
by globalisation.
As CEO of Avasant, what has
TECHNOLOGY, THROUGH THE INTERNET, COMMUNICATIONS
AND CLOUD HAS BECOME THE PATHWAY FOR OVERALL
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN A GLOBALISED ENVIRONMENT
been the most challenging decision
you had to take?
In 2008, we were faced with an extremely
poor US economy with
relatively anemic sales in consulting.
Many of our competitors were
hemorrhaging up to 30% of their
delivery force through layoffs and
RIFs (Reduction in Force). As the
CEO of the company I was forced
to decide how Avasant would
manage this problem. With people
at the heart of our business, I decided
not to layoff our team or
make signifi cant cuts in our delivery
capabilities. Instead, we asked
the Partners and executives of
Avasant to take salary cuts until
we weathered the storm. This decision
not only preserved our consulting
workforce but positioned
us for signifi cant success in the
post economic recovery. And
while the U.S. economy continues
its slow recovery, Avasant is operating
at full capability. We are
amongst a very few select fi rms
that continue to grow the top line
during these economic challenges.
Now in 2012, all of our Partners
have been fully compensated for
their sacrifi ce and we continue to
experience record growth. Today,
we operate in over 40 countries
and across all continents.
Who has been your role model
and inspiration?
I was fortunate to work under the
Clinton Administration and serve
participate in the One America
Commission discussions. President
Clinton was one of the few US
Presidents that actively supported
rural entrepreneurship. He was
a true inspiration for the corporate
world.
How has this experience shaped
Avasant’s commitment to poverty
reduction?
Avasant is committed to poverty
reduction through Avasant Foundation.
In fact, Avasant was re-
count your chickens before they hatch 27 july 2012
cently awarded a Grant through
the Rockefeller Foundation’s Poverty
Reduction through Information
and Digital Employment
(PRIDE) Initiative. With our partnership
with the Rockefeller we
are examining ways to encourage
the use of outsourcing to create
meaningful jobs in poor and rural
communities.
In your experience as a lawyer
and business leader, you have
interacted with US enterprises
such as IBM, HP, Accenture and
also Indian Outsourcing leaders
such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro.
What is the major difference
that you fi nd between Indian
and American companies?
Today the difference between the
operating models of Indian and US
Service Providers is starting to
blur. In fact, increasingly US
providers have developed offshore
strongholds in Asia and LATAM to
ensure competitive delivery
models. Similarly, Indian
providers have become more global
and have aggressively
established US and nearshore delivery
capabilities.
The challenges faced by businesses
today are so signifi cant
and transformational that aligning
legal expertise to real business
problems is only part of the solution.
Transforming business today
means identifying the core roots
of both success and failure and
creating innovative solutions
for tomorrow.
Is Indian outsourcing naïve as
compared to the US?
I do not believe one can compare
the US versus the Indian outsourcing
industry. In fact, they are one
and the same. Today the relationships
between India and the US are
so inter-twined that both regions
are required to operate in concert
to ensure the delivery of a “world
class” managed service.

COVER STORY
“ONE DEPOSIT IN
YOUR SAVINGS AC-
COUNT COULD MAKE
YOU A MILLIONAIRE”
PRIYA HAJI, FOUNDER OF WORLD OF GOOD AND SAVEUP SUCCESSFULLY
SYNERGISES ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITH SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. EXCERPTS
FROM THE INTERVIEW
CO-FOUNDED AND LED:
World of Good, to create
a branded marketplace
for fair trade and
sustainable goods made
by women
LATEST VENTURE:
SaveUP, an initiative to
help american save and
reduce and repay debt
CO-FOUNDED: Free at Last
which became a national
model for substance
abuse treatment
PRIYA HAJI
World of Good has helped many
causes across the globe, how did
you promote anti child-labour activism
in India?
My co-founder, Siddharth Sanghvi,
and I started World of Good to help
the thousands of women artisans
around the world earn a fair wage
and work in safe and clean working
conditions. We partnered with many
fair trade artisan groups in India. By
doing so, we were able to promote
fair trade products in the US as well
as help grow the fair trade industry
in India. We are proud that World of
Good was able to improve the lives of
thousands of Indian artisan families.
What prompted you to start your
most recent venture, SaveUp?
My entrepreneurial imagination gets
inspired by seeing how I can help
people through an innovative use of
business or technology. In the current
economic environment, pretty
much every American is trying to increase
their savings and reduce their
debts. Just imagine – one deposit in
your savings account could make you
a millionaire. Well if you use SaveUp
it could. And no matter what, you
never lose because you are always
improving your fi nancial situation.
We hope SaveUp will help Americans
to stay motivated to contribute to
their 401k accounts or build up their
emergency savings during these
count your chickens before they hatch 28 july 2012
tough fi nancial times.
What is the business model on
which SaveUp works?
SaveUp is a free online rewards programme
that encourages Americans
to save money and pay down their
debt. Every time users save in their
own savings accounts or make a payment
on a loan or credit card balance,
they earn SaveUp credits, which they
can use to win great prizes like vacations,
cars, and cash. The biggest
prize on the program is $2 million.
National brands like Virgin America,
Banana Republic, GameStop, and TurboTax
sponsor the prizes.
How do you manage fund fl ow?
SaveUp features some great advertisers
and sponsors on the site. We also
work together with fi nancial institutions
to give their customers a customized
SaveUp experience. Financial
institutions use SaveUp to acquire new
customers as well as deepen their current
relationship with existing customers
by promoting fi nancial products
and putting up their own exclusive
prizes. SaveUp also is currently
funded by two venture capital fi rms.
From where do you draw your inspiration?
I have some great role models in my
family. My grandmother was part of
Gandhi’s movement, and she showed
me the importance of a commitment
to improving the world.

RAJIV LULLA
“IT IS HARD TO
IDENTIFY TALENT
AND EVEN HARDER
TO RETAIN THEM"
RAJIV LULLA WITH 20 YEARS PLUS EXPERIENCE IN CORPORATE WORLD
ELUCIDATES THE SECRET OF TRANSITING ACROSS VARIOUS SECTORS AND
CULTURES TO NIDHI GUPTA
After reaching the second highest
position in NDTV Metro Nation
why did you shift base to NY to
join a company at VP level?
There is much more to what satisfi es
one than job titles. In the long run,
organisations, teams, and the world
value us as we value ourselves. After
leaving NDTV, I ran TCS' Advertising,
Broadcasting, and Cable industry
practice. Working with some of
the most talented brands and people
in the industry at Conde Nast publications,
was also a privilege. To be
in discussions with the prominent
fi gures from NDTV, New Yorker,
Vanity Fair and Glamour are memorable
and fulfi lling moments.
What are the differences in the
working style of India compared
to the West?
My teams in India knew how to
turn on the light-bulb with less
resources, including time and
money. Knowing the score in
Cricket and developing keen driving
skills in India were key metaphors
for each business negotiation.
It is important to know if
your entire car can pass through
what seems to be a 2" gap between
the next two vehicles. In the West,
I fi nd that teams value clearer
communication, tighter teamchoreography,
individual accountability,
and work-life balance.
How easy or diffi cult it is for a
person who’s worked in India to
adjust and adapt to the Western
working culture?
It is actually very common to see
people of foreign descent becoming
phenomenally successful in the
West, than it is in India. Personally,
I have found the West more open to
foreign ideas, relatively more transparent,
and an overall healthier
working democracy.
What kind of challenges you face
everyday while managing a staff
of US nationals as compared to
the Indian employees?
The challenges remain somewhat
similar irrespective of political
boundaries. To boil it down to one
– it is hard to identify truly great talent,
and even harder to retain them.
Despite advances in technology and
the social networking revolution, I
fi nd that the tools and even professional
practices available for fi nding
true talent are very limiting.
What is your current role in TELiBrahma?
How is it different from
NDTV Metro Nation?
The role at NDTV was to emulate the
Affi liate TV business model that has
worked well in the large democracies.
It is a joy to be associated with
people at TELiBrahma who are
bright, like-minded entrepreneurs
and industry veterans.
count your chickens before they hatch 29 july 2012
AT PRESENT: President,
TELiBrahma, a digital
and mobile marketing
solutions company
SERVED AS VP: Condé
Nast – publishes some
of the most well-known
magazines including
Vogue, Wired, Glamour,
Vanity Fair, GQ, Traveller,
Allure, Bon Appetit and
Architectural Digest
FORMERLY: MD & CEO
NDTV Hindu, CEO
MetroNation

COVER STORY
"I BELIEVE IN HIR-
ING THE BEST PEO-
PLE AND LEADING
THEM BY EXAMPLE"
CO-FOUNDER AND EX-PRESIDENT OF BITTORENT, ASHWIN NAVIN FRANKLY
DISCUSSES WITH NIDHI GUPTA THAT HOW PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES HELPED
HIM TO MAKE A MARK IN INTERNET TV INDUSTRY THROUGH FLINGO
FLINGO: Chairman,
Co-founder and Chief
Executive Offi cer, the
largest developer of
apps for Smart TVs
BITTORRENT: Co-
Founder and former
President
GOLDMAN SACHS AND
MERRILL LYNCH: Worked
as Investment Banker
ASHWIN NAVIN
What did prompt you to start a
company like Flingo?
When I was leaving BitTorrent, I
had a small group of friends who
were best in the internet industry.
We looked at how far the Internet
had penetrated our lives: in our
home and work. There was one
space left which was untouched by
Web technology: the television. So,
we set up a company called Flingo
(www.fl ingo.tv, @fl ingotv on twitter).
The television experience and
related business model has largely
been unchanged for 70 years. So,
we are building software into the
television which will bring internet
content into the viewing experience,
so that people can easily
share your favorite moments with
friends or fi nd out more about
their favourite actors or easily fi nd
great things to watch. We think
television presents a huge opportunity
because its still the primary
way people are entertained and
informed… and its ripe for innovation
and improvement.
You have worked in many companies
before starting your own
venture. How did it help you in
terms of building block for the
start up?
Working in different organizations
has helped me understand the im-
count your chickens before they hatch 30 july 2012
portance of culture. It is critical to
identify your company's core values
and make them clear to everyone
who joins. I also think that it is
important for every entrepreneur
or executive to understand where
your company sits in its evolution,
and the type of people you need to
have on your team to succeed at
that stage of development.
How was your experience as
President and Co-founder of Bit-
Torrent.inc?
It was amazing. It was extremely
gratifying to work on a product
used by so many people. We
were inspired by both the positive
and negative feedback we would
get from our users, and from the
opportunity to impact the way millions
of people get their media and
entertainment. Morover, handing
the nagging legal issues as well as
ISP related issues was quite challenging
and unique experience.
What kind of leadership style do
you prefer to exercise?
I follow a very simple mantra of
leadership, which is to hire the
best people and lead them by example.
If you want your people to
have certain values, or exhibit certain
characteristics, then you need
to live and breathe those same
things yourself.

MOHIT PARASAR
"INDIAN ENVIRON-
MENT IS DYNAMIC
WHILE THE WESTERN
ONE IS MECHANIC"
FORMER MD OF SONY EUROPE AND CURRENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND
CEO OF BEETEL, MOHIT PARASAR ENUNCIATES THE DIFFERENCES IN THE
EUROPEAN AND INDIAN WORKING ENVIRONMENT TO GANESH KUMAR ROY
How did your journey at
Beetel started?
I was thinking of coming back to
India after working for so many
years abroad. Eventually, I wanted
to join an organization which has
the potential to grow in a more
challenging environment. Then I
got an offer from Bharti
group which was very interesting
to join.
How is your experience as
Executive Director and CEO
of Beetel?
So far the journey has been great.
I enjoy every bit of my work life.
The work here is very challenging
and dynamic. Beetel today is in a
point of major transformation
where I have to take several strategic
decisions which is making it
more challenging and enjoyable.
When we talk about India, how
much the working culture and
environment of India different
from rest of the world?
Indian environment is a lot more
dynamic while the Western environment
is mechanic where you
know everything like directions,
stores inventory and many more.
In India, you have to keep a close
eye on each and every step of
work. In India, work is done more
on a relationship which does not
exist in the west. People come for
a purpose and after completion
they move their respective ways.
India has a very younger
demography which makes it
more challenging to work and
take decisions.
In your corporate career which
task was most diffi cult for you
and why?
The most critical factor in business
is people. You may have a great
idea and incite to execute that but
if you do not have the right people
to accomplish that then your idea
remain an idea. So, the biggest
challenge for any leader is how he/
she communicates the idea with
people and makes it a reality.
What kind of governmental hurdles
industry faces?
It is very easy to blame government
but I think it is the responsibility
of both the corporate and
the government to go hand in
hand. The industry is growing and
it will reach full potential in the
coming years.
What kind of leader you are?
I do believe in trust and relationship.
If you trust your subordinates
and vise-versa then your communication
become much faster and
engagement which provides the
maximum output.
count your chickens before they hatch 31 july 2012
BEETEL TELETCH LTD:
Chief Executive Offi cer
and Executive Director
SONY: Former Managing
Director – UK and
Ireland
GEOGRAPHICAL
EXPERINCES: Europe, Asia,
Middle East and Africa
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
INDUSTRY: 20 years of
extensive global experience

INTERNATIONAL COLUMN
ESSENTIAL OF
TRUSTED ADVISORS
AFTER GATHERING ENOUGH INFORMATION AND
CONSULTING WITH OTHER ADVISORS, TRUSTED
ADVISORS PROVIDE THE BEST ADVICE TO THEIR CLIENTS
BILL BACHRACH
Financial Advisor, Corporate Speaker and Best-selling Author
Over the years, 20+ now, I've studied a lot,
taught a lot, and written a lot about building
high-trust client relationships. Lately, I've
found myself saying to our core group of committed
advisors who implement the Values-Based Financial
Planning turn-key business model that, "trust
is not the objective, trust is a by-product of the other
things that you do, like your behaviour, your communication,
and the quality of your work."
Consider this point of view instead: “I am going to
show up relaxed, be authentic, behave with an extremely
high level of professionalism, skillfully execute
my process for creating a great client interview experience
or progress meeting experience, ask great questions,
listen with empathy, be well-organized, be respectful
of their time by not bragging about myself or
my company or boring them with over-explanations
of fi nancial concepts and ideas, and be selective about
only letting the truly right-fi t people join my community
of Ideal Clients. And if, in the process of behaving
this way, they trust me and hire me, fi ne. If not, that's
okay too.”
Some advisors try to force things to happen with
everyone they meet by using sales, infl uence, or persuasion
tactics to "close the deal." This is akin to a
woman desperately seeking a husband because her
"biological clock is ticking" instead of looking for the
right partner with similar goals and values who is best
suited for the two them to create a life together of happiness
and fulfi llment.
Think of each client relationship more like a professional
marriage. The objectives are for them to have
the best possible experience, whether they become a
client or not, and for only the "right-fi ts" to
"TRUST IS A BY-PRODUCT OF THE
OTHER THINGS THAT YOU DO, LIKE YOUR
BEHAVIOR, YOUR COMMUNICATION, AND
THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK"
count your chickens before they hatch 32 july 2012
become clients.
Here are a few time-tested ideas for behaving in ways
that create the by-product of trust and a few thoughts
about not-to-do behaviours that erode trust. Salespeople
tend to offer alternatives and let the prospect or
client choose. Trusted Advisors gather all the information
they need, consult with other experts where appropriate,
and give the best advice for the client… with
conviction. There may be more than one way to achieve
a goal, but there is only one best way. Find the best way
and give advice with conviction.
The primary determinant of a person achieving their
goals is their own behaviour. Your job is much more
about managing your clients’ choices and actions than
it is about managing their money. The bottom line is that
there is no guarantee of anything. The best you can do
is to help people get their entire fi nancial house in order,
make the best choices possible at the time, and be in the
strongest position possible to adapt to whatever noncontrollable
events occur. The less you play the predictthe-future
game the more credible you are.
Put the client fi rst. Duh. I know. It sounds almost
silly and certainly cliché. And yet there is a lot of discussion
and controversy by the regulators and industry
leaders about the fi duciary standard. Am I the only one
who fi nds it absurd that legislation is necessary for our
industry to step up and adopt a fi duciary standard? Isn't
that simply always, in all situations, and under all circumstances
putting your client's needs ahead of your
own? Isn't that what you already do? Do you really need
a law about that? Apparently the industry does. The
good news is that your competition needs somebody
else to defi ne integrity for them not you.
There are several fi nancial professionals who are
very strong about their behaviours. Moreover, they are
very good at what they do and they genuinely care
about helping people to get their fi nancial house in order,
achieve their goals, and fulfi ll their values. By behaving
at this very high level of professionalism trust
is the by-product of that behavior.
(Reprinted with permission from the author)

LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT
RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENT
THE INSPIRATIONAL LEADER SHOULD
ACCEPT THAT LEADERSHIP IS MORE OF A
RESPONSIBILITY AND NOT A RIGHT
It is sad to admit that an autocratic, transactional
style of leadership still appears to feature in
the South-African work-place. Hierarchies are
fi rmly in place and a ‘command and control’ approach
is followed, in many instances. The obvious
consequence is a relatively low level of productivity
from staff, as the prevailing attitude tends to be reluctant
compliance rather than real commitment.
On the other hand, it is gratifying to observe the
steadily increasing incidence of transformational,
inspirational leadership. More and more leaders are
emerging who succeed in inspiring their people
through a unifying vision. A vision that succeeds in
not only motivating team members towards a common
dream, but one that also leads to focused effort,
maximum internal synergies and the alignment of
personal and organisational objectives.
In organisations that are privileged to have inspirational
leadership, there is trust and a sense of belonging.
Trust is a prerequisite for good relationships
and is the glue that keeps organisations together. Scientifi
c research has proven that good relationships,
in turn, drive performance.
VALUES
Inspirational leaders are highly principled people.
Their behaviour is characterised by their integrity,
consistency and fairness. They succeed in creating
shared values throughout their organisations. These
values include respect for human dignity, equal
opportunities for all, honesty and sincerity, openness
and transparency, teamwork and excellence. The
inspirational leader ‘walks the talk’, and ensures
that these values become ingrained into the culture
of the organization.
The inspirational leader accepts that leadership is
a responsibility, not a right. He recognises that the
privilege to lead must be earned, it cannot be demanded.
His focus is not on himself, its all about the team.
Effective leaders know that leadership is not about
ego and authority. It is about results and achievement.
It is also not about positional power; it is about per-
BRAND PRETORIUS
CEO, McCARTHY LIMITED
count your chickens before they hatch 33 july 2012
BRAND PRETORIUS
suasion. For that reason they are obsessed with open
and frequent communication. Inspirational leaders
radiate positive energy and dispense enthusiasm.
They measure their success not by how many people
they control, but by how many people they liberate to
achieve their full potential. They trust people, believe
in the power of the human spirit and relish the challenge
of unlocking human potential through involvement
and empowerment.
COACHING
The inspirational leader spends a lot more time on
coaching and encouraging, than on controlling.
In fact, exemplary leaders go much further than
coaching; they have compassion, empathy and they
genuinely care. They’re also ‘servant leaders’, willing
to make sacrifi ces for their people.
At the same time, there is a passion for excellence.
They are driven to achieve, but recognise that they
can only do it through teamwork. They manage to
strike a balance – they are head-headed when it comes
"TRUST IS A PREREQUISITE FOR GOOD
RELATIONSHIPS AND IS THE GLUE THAT
KEEPS ORGANISATIONS TOGETHER AND
DRIVE THEIR PERFORMANCE"
to results, but soft-hearted when it comes
to people. Effective leaders have an abundance
mentality. They give generous rewards for outstanding
performance.
Truly inspirational leaders succeed, over time, in
translating vision into reality. Their organisations
never lack direction, trust and hope for a better future.
They get through to the hearts and the minds of
their people. Moreover, apart from delivering outstanding
results to all their stakeholders, they also
make a difference. After all, isn’t the essence of human
purpose to make a difference?

POSTSCRIPT
TRAINEES TRAIN THE C-SUITE
Lord Krishna in Mahabharata is a supreme
exemplar of reverse mentoring. Even
when he was in his adolescence, he
attracted more infl uential adherence
from the people who were twice or even thrice
his age. With regards to Pandavas, he used to
ease off their hardships and was the source of
motivation and guidance. Yudhishtir who was
elder to Krishna used to revere him like his guru
and used to chart guidance from him that
determined his path to eventual success. As it
emerged in Mahabharata, Krishna was the
source of salvation for people (including the
grand uncle of the Pandavas as well as the
Kuravas, Vishma) much senior to him, which if
replicated in modern management techniques, can spell
wonder for the corporations.
As said in the movie ‘Man on a Ledge’, “we don't go to work.
We go to war!” Corporate world today is not less than a cutthroat
battle fi eld where for survival one needs to have a new
and seminal strategy every moment. For this one not only
needs a Krishna for him but for the entire organization. Not
only West, but even Indian companies like Bharti, Goodrej and
many more are recruiting and falling back on mentors and
coaches for developing survival strategies and above all, to
prevent themselves from getting obsolete!
So how did this trend of coaching the C-suite start? In
modern corporate world, it was Jack Welch, who introduced
the idea of CEO coaching in GE during his stint as the CEO of
the company. In GE, Jack Welch wanted his 500 top level
executives to get rid of old school of thoughts and adopt new
management styles. He focused on imbibing technology in
management and coached them to foresee the usage of
technology in the company. Interestingly, Jack recruited
young people (in their 20s) as coaches for his top level greyhaired
management team and also hired one so that he could
learn to surf the web. Jack Welch not only broke the
conventional method of coaching but also popularised the
concept of reverse mentoring, by introducing younger coach/
mentor to his top management.
A Harvard Business working paper titled, ‘What an Executive
Coach Can Do for You’ states that, “It might seem that way at
some organizations, at least to the untrained eye. IBM has
more than sixty certifi ed coaches among its ranks. Scores of
other major companies have made coaching a core part of
executive development. The belief is that, under the right
circumstances, one-on-one interaction with an objective third
party can provide a focus that other forms of organisational
support simply cannot.”
Rocky Pimentel, Senior Vice-President of WebTV Networks
Inc. once coached Eric Ludwig, Vice-President of Instill while
other senior member of Instill went to professors of Kellogg
count your chickens before they hatch 34 july 2012
Graduate School of Management CEO of
Virage Inc. to learn new tactic of business.
Coaching today is just not seen as an
important part of human resource
management but is taken more as an
investment! Today companies can literally
calculate the ROI on coaching. Studies show
that companies like GE, Goldman Sachs,
Google and many others spends over a billion
dollar annually on C-suite coaching. So what
fi nally are the returns? Shockingly, the ROI
on coaching is sometimes (or rather, most of
the time) more than ROI on the products a
company sells! A global survey by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the
Association Resource center concluded that “the mean ROI
for companies investing in coaching was 7 times the initial
investment, with over a quarter reporting an ROI of 10 to 49
times.” Another paper titled, “Maximizing the Impact of
Executive Coaching: Behavioral Change, Organizational
Outcomes, and Return on Investment” by Joy McGovern,
Michael Lindemann, Monica Vergara, Stacey Murphy, Linda
Barker, and Rodney Warrenfeltz went on proving that ROI is
averaged nearly to $100,000 or 5.7 times the initial investment
in coaching and stated in a few cases it was as high as $1
million, $5 million, or even $25 million!
Interestingly, reverse mentoring has become a win-win
situation. For instance, when Navdeep Manaktala, head,
services sales at Nokia, mentored his senior, Nikhil Mathur,
head of strategy planning, and sought insights about the new
services that Nokia is planning to offer, the former latently
asked all his queries without even making his trainee (his
senior) realise the same. Similarly, Sanjay Kapoor, deputy CEO,
Bharti Airtel never fails to spend time with his mentor. He,
every week over a cup of coffee meet company's young
employees to understand the new physiology and taste of the
market. Bharti is on a drive to unearth ideas and coaching
from the India’s youth bulge, which comprises 560 million
people under the age of 25. The conglomerate has opened the
door for the young and dynamic folks straight into the Sanjay
Kapoor’s 7 th fl oor suite at Gurgaon’s towering block! A novel
idea indeed, of reverse mentoring into the corridors of Bharti’s
top management.
Today, C-Suite members are keeping their ego at the bay and
are proactively embracing reverse mentoring and coaching.
Some of the CXOs have recruited external coaches while some
fi nd it convenient to have a word of advice (regularly) from
their own juniors. This in turn not only breaks the hierarchy
but also the top management thoughts trickle down directly
to the lower and middle management. Above all, it helps in
breaking the glass door that used to be, once, like a wall between
the senior and the lower management.
SRAY AGARWAL
Consulting Editor