THOUGHT LEADERSHIP ARTICLE

Name: Date: Student ID: Email:

M. Anand Bhaskar 20th October

anand_avi@yahoo.com

Complete your thought leadership article in the space below. Then email this document as an attachment to assessment@icoachacademy.com

Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

Thought Leadership Article

Change, whose job is it?
Ever since I joined the industry 22 years ago, I often learnt from my mentors & coaches that change is the only constant. Be adaptable, flexible and willing to learn if you wish to succeed in the corporate world. As a young professional, I obediently listened to them and remembered the gospel of my seniors. You can see, I still remember it. A couple of years ago I used to work for a respected FMCG company SPARTA with revenue of $250 million. We had a new CEO, Ravi who joined us from Unilever (which was $ 2b in revenue then), which had and continues to have a reputation of developing great leaders. SPARTA was in existence for more than 50 years and had a deep-rooted work ethic with a laid back culture. , Its market share was not challenged for many years, was steadily growing and was very profitable. The new CEO had a mandate from his global leadership to shake up the work ethic, drive aggressive growth and improve market share. Ravi, in his initial days went across the country, met various executives & leaders, heard their views about issues in the business and got a grasp of what the challenges in the company were. After his India tour, he called the Management Committee (MC), the highest leadership body in India for a meeting to discuss what he learnt. Interestingly, the MC echoed the same issues/concerns that he had heard from the field. Ravi got excited and said to himself I guess I understand what I need to change here. Next two years were years of rapid change, Ravi made big bold decisions, he led from the front, the company refurbished its brands, launched new products/brands, re-launched its old boring brands with new packaging, formulations etc., many heads rolled in various parts of the country, change was finally happening. 2 years of pain-staking effort, Ravi appeared to be on a tread-mill and almost omnipresent in very meeting / forum. All these efforts, more than 50% of the people in the company were less than 2 years old, salaries grew, people were paid much better, some product launches succeeded, a few failed, the company grew marginally in market share, revenue & profits but the employee morale dropped significantly. End result Ravi was fired !!

Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

A couple of years later, I met Ravi in an external event. . He was still reeling under the scars of his past. We were reflecting on what went wrong why did it not work, why did employee morale drop, why did sales/margin not grow as expected etc.? It was a million dollar question in his mind. Why did the change not work? Ravi and I found ourselves a comfortable place in a bar and continued our conversation over a few drinks. He drank and spoke; I chose to ask questions and listen instead of taking a drink. Here is how the conversation progressed. Ravi said, I was doing very well in Unilever successful with a big role. I was itching to run my own company. The opportunity seemed terrific. SPARTA, an MNC had promise, some good products and brands in its stable, a laid-back culture, moved slowly but had incredible potential. They got a new CEO globally; Roddy Lin and he hired me. He wanted to drive this company in India out of the woods and into growth. You know Unilever at that time was growing 18% YoY and this company was growing at a mere 6% and losing market share in all key product categories. So I asked Ravi, What was your mandate? Ravi: I was told they wanted to shake up this place. Me: What do you mean by shake up? Ravi: My predecessor was an old hand. He had been around for 25 years. He had a fixed way of doing things.. He was resistant to any change. They wanted a new man at the helm. They wanted me to take a hard look at the leadership, assess their capability and determine if we had the right horses in the stable. They were not sure who they could bet on. They did not trust my predecessors assessment of the situation and the leadership team. I was told I should do what it takes to grow the company at par with competitors, which means 6% to 18% annual growth. That is how the market was growing at that time. Me: So after you joined what was your assessment of the situation & the leadership? Ravi: I found that in most cases the global assessment was right. The company was truly laid back. They had no measures around performance. Starting with manufacturing; factory productivity was low, poor quality processes, safety standards were pathetic, compliance was at bare minimum standards and much more. I was concerned that with these standards, scalability of output will be a big challenge. R&D had been pumping thousands of dollars into this thing and nothing had come out in the last five years. The first time I reviewed R&D work and results, I decided to shut this down completely as it wasnt worth the money we poured into it. There were positives the sales engine worked well, we had a Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. 3
Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

strong distribution model and it made me happy. In product marketing and branding, there were a few good people but I knew we had to invest in this place. Therefore, I did invest and bring in some good people from Unilever. Me: So what was your plan? How did you think about the change you wanted to see? Ravi: I decided to approach it in three phases. Phase 1 I went around the country and met all people. I reviewed all the work that they were doing, got to understand their issues and challenges. I also used the opportunity to assess people. So I met the factory and supply chain leadership, the sales and marketing teams, distributors and retailers, my own Management Committee (MC) and spent around three months doing just this. Phase 2 I shared my vision and growth strategy for the company and aligned my global CEO and his team to my thinking. I recommended shutting India R&D and leverage global R&D to drive innovation in both product and packaging. He agreed. I also shared my vision and growth strategy with my MC. Phase 3 I identified people who might be challenged in executing my vision & strategy and decided to change them. Me: So, Ravi did you execute on your plan? Ravi: Yes, I did to the hilt. I had a plan, worked hard at it and we made a lot of progress. Me: How was the progress? How did you achieve the growth results like sales, market share etc.? Ravi: We did reasonably well, grew 5% in the first year but bounced back to 8% in second year. We did six product launches in just 2 years, the last time the company had a new product launch was 10 years ago. My global stakeholders should have been thrilled. They could never achieve any of this with my predecessor for the last decade. Our profits margins continued to be strong. I improved our net margin from 12% to 16%. We made the highest profits ever. I brought in some good leadership talent from outside and we had lots of people change in manufacturing and supply chain. More than 50% of the organization was tenured less than two years with us. From a slow lethargic set up with old fashioned people, we had a bunch of young and bright talent. I made that happen. They saw promise in my story my vision & strategy. Me: So what went wrong? Ravi: My global CEO said I had not achieved what I set out to do? I had promised him 18% sales growth, but we did 5% and 8% over 2 years. He wasnt satisfied. In his view, I missed my target. How can growth happen overnight? It would take 4-5 years for us to get there? We were on track. He said my MC was not happy with my style. They thought I was going too fast and not consulting them enough. Come on, I hired half this team! They knew my vision and strategy, they agreed in our MC meeting. We were losing share did we expect the customer to wait for us longer? The third reason I was told that the employee
Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

satisfaction scores went down. This shocked me completely. I raised the compensation costs by 24%, hired smart people and I just cant get to understand why would people be unhappy? My reflection: It was then that it struck me, Ravi was such a smart guy, high achiever, had the right ideas, great intent but the best of people could have blind spots. Me: How committed was Roddy Lin (your global CEO) and his team on your vision & strategy for India? Ravi: Oh.., Roddy said, it is for me to decide and drive India. Me: You have not answered my question Ravi? Was he committed to your vision & strategy? Ravi: I think he was committed, why do you ask? Me: Thats okay Ravi. What is your reflection now if Roddy was committed? Further, my next question is how committed was your MC on your Vision & strategy? Ravi: They were over-awed when they saw it? A few walked up to me and said, this is the best strategy they have ever seen in their careers. Me: Were they committed or were they over-awed with YOUR strategy? Ravi: Why do you ask that question? I thought they were committed? Me: You said you went around the country meeting people and sharing your thinking? Did your MC also do the same? Ravi: eh.. Not really. I guess they left that job to me Me: Who did you work with to make your decisions around people, Organization changes etc.? Ravi: Ah.., I knew exactly what I wanted to do. A few of us from the MC like my Marketing and Sales Leads worked with me in defining these changes. Many others you know were the old timers, who did not quite understand what I was trying to do. Besides, they were always questioning and cautioning me. Me: Did you ever consult Amitabh, your HR Lead? I think he was not an old timer. He had joined a few months prior to you.
Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

Ravi: I did try to talk to him, but he sounded more of an old timer than the actual old timers. He was really an old school guy. He would often insist we move more cautiously. While he was one guy who voiced strong support to my vision and strategy, he often questioned my decisions on people. He often came to me with feedback from my team. He would never tell me who? He seemed to be leading crib sessions and people tended to gravitate to him. They seemed to like him. He was a nice guy, probably. He would come and play that all back on me. Me: So what did you do? Ravi: I fired Amitabh and got myself another HR guy. Later when I was asked to go and I was completely down and out, Amitabh got to know and he called me and spoke with me. He was so professional and had no hard feelings on what I did to him. He spoke so nicely to me. He was so concerned about me and inquired about my well being. His graciousness really touched my heart. I Me: That was nice of Amitabh. Long pause, for a few minutes. Ravi was in deep reflection, his face had dropped, I could see emotions building and wrinkles showing on his face. After a few minutes of total silence Ravi: . oh GOD what a jerk I have been! Me: Why would you say that? Ravi: I guess to start with I got it all wrong. Roddy Lin probably did not share my vision. Me: Why would you say that? Ravi: Oh, okay. I guess I shared my global CEOs vision and had my own vision for India aligned to his. I think he agreed with my vision and purpose. What I realize is that, he did not approve the way I executed it? Me: Okay, what about the execution did he not approve of? Ravi: My intention was good. I had nothing against anyone, especially the old timers. I just wanted to get the job done and make all of us successful. I still believe I had a compelling vision for India and we were on the right track. If I had 3 more years, I would have turned this place around. What I did wrong was I did not rally enough support for my vision. I thrust it on people around me. I should have been patient & worked with my MC to co-create the vision as a shared vision and not my vision. It might have worked better.

Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

Me: What I am hearing you say, Ravi is that you have got some new insights into a situation that has been bothering you for years now. You could have led the team with a shared vision and not just your vision!! I would like to acknowledge you Ravi, for your courage to self-reflect and gain this deep insight. You also mentioned you were not against the old timers? In hindsight, did your actions match your intent? Ravi: I think I know I know it now. Since I was biased in my view of the old timers, I saw them more as road blocks than someone who could enable my vision. Probably Amitabh was right. He used to keep saying, turn around a few old timers who have high credibility in the organization and make them advocates of your vision.. I was impatient, a man in a hurry. I had set my own timelines for success. Me: Whose success Ravi, yours or the companys? Ravi: My global CEO had not set out any time lines for the change; I was the one who was anxious to make the change happen faster than what people around me were ready for. I did not take people around me along and build a compelling case for change which included their interests. Me: I hear you state another insight Ravi, compelling case for change & others interests. How are you feeling now Ravi? Ravi: I am feeling much better. This conversation is working for me. I love it. Me: Great. Did you consider looking around and evaluating who around you in your MC & beyond could have been your partners in enabling your vision for the company? Ravi: I actually wrote most of them off. I recall Amitabh bringing me something like this on a piece of paper suggesting an approach to include a few old timers who he thought could be leveraged. He felt they were key stakeholders who could enable the vision & strategy. I did not heed his advice. Me: So..? Ravi: I missed an opportunity to include key stakeholders who would have enabled the change I wanted to bring about. Me: You said earlier that you replaced many of them with your new hires. Did these new hires embrace your vision? Ravi: I think they did, but they struggled to influence their teams. In hindsight the old timers might have done a better job if only I had listened to Amitabhs advice and been a bit more patient with myself & people around me. Me: Hmm Ravi in your admission you have shared that you did a few things well. I heard from you that you probably missed a few key aspects, but you did communicate your vision & need for change across the Org. You talked to people & reached out widely in the Organization. Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. 7
Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com

Ravi: Thanks Anand. Over the last few years, I have been living in some kind of self-pity. This conversation has helped me look at this episode differently and I think there is terrific learning as I now move on from here. As a leader if I had a trusted advisor, I might have been better off. I realize I made a mistake. As I reflect on this conversation with Ravi, I gained some interesting insights & learning from this conversation as a coach. I noticed how little I spoke in this conversation. Most of the time, it was Ravi who was sharing his thoughts and feelings. I noticed the power in asking short but relevant questions. When a deep sense of reflection hits the clients awareness, it is a difficult moment for the client. I noticed just being there and demonstrating empathy enabled Ravi to continue to share his thoughts & feelings. I had worked with Ravi in SPARTA but in this entire conversation I kept my judgment about Ravi and his tenure as a leader out of the frame. Suspending judgment and listening to the client was a powerful learning for me as a coach. Also acknowledging Ravi at times on what he did or was doing well made a difference to him, while he was feeling overwhelmed during the conversation.

Besides, coming to the topic of Change, as a professional I have had the honor of working with many great leaders and have learnt so much from their experiences. They are respected professionals, high achievers, people with great vision, lots of passion and drive, they may appear to have their follies, but you know what, they are human after all. The issue here is not if Ravi is a great leader, even if he failed in this one company he still is a great leader. A big question that continues to plague me even today is Change - Whose Job is it? People often walk up to me and talk about what does not work in the company - issues, challenges, how things should be different, what processes are missing etc.? The only question I ask them what are you doing about it? Somewhere deep within, one of learning is that Change is everyones job. It is not that of the CEO alone. The CEO may appear to be the visible face of it, may lead it, may advocate it, build a case for it etc However, each one of us needs to stand up and be counted. As Mahatma Gandhi said, we have to be

the change we want to see around us.

By M. Anand Bhaskar
******

Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com