The world is experiencing tectonic shifts such as Industry 4.0, Evolving Technologies and Climate Change. These shifts are changing the way the world does business. CII works relentlessly to enable industry to meet these challenges and stay ahead in a highly competitive global environment. In step with this mission, CII’s Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing initiative (VLFM) is aimed at creating leaders who are skilled to lead their companies in these times of drastic change. Over the last nine years a number of success stories have emerged from the companies that have undergone CII’s VLFM Programme. To share these stories with many more Members, we have launched the VLFM Newsletter “Dreams to Reality”. Through this newsletter we will share stories of transformation and breakthroughs achieved by Members of CII’s VLFM Community. In the inaugural issue we bring you stories of breakthrough transformation of two companies that have undergone CII's VLFM and VSME Programmes - Crientors, a SME and Tata Motors

1. Inside
Book Review : Observation Skills
In Conversation with Tata Motors
Our Guru’s Message
And more …
Leaderspeak
Happy Society: Village Buddha
Awards & Accolades: Godrej Gets the G-Mark
Success Story: The Success of Creintors
Transforming Indian Manufacturing
DREAMS TO REALITY
Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2016

2. Over the last nine years, in some sense VLFM has grown like the Banyan tree, the National
Tree of India. The aerial proproots of this tree help it to grow and expand across hectares
of land. It takes decades for these prop roots to turn into trunks capable of supporting
many more branches. The VLFM companies and graduates symbolize the aerialprop
roots of the Banyan tree, forever progressing. As some of them develop into trunks, they
are also growing new roots and becoming a source of sustenance for those below.
A Banyan tree symbolizes a noble mind and India has many people with a noble mind.
VLFM therefore hopes to continue to progress like the Banyan tree.
Symbolic of the Trimurti, its three main parts symbolize the creator, the protector and the
destroyer; the bark is symbolic of Lord Vishnu, the roots of Lord Brahma the creator, and
the branches are symbolic of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is visualized as sitting under the
Banyan tree, the botanical embodiment of the universal soul, facing death and change. In
similar vein VLFM Community pursues destruction of the old to transform and change; to
dream and create while protecting the unchanging principles.
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of the information and material presented in this document. Nonetheless, all information, estimates and opinions contained in this
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correction.
Published by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
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Tel: +91-11-24629994-7, Fax: +91-11-24626149
Email: info@cii.in; Web: www.cii.in
Cover Concept

3. Leaderspeak
A sustained drive by the Government to give impetus to
manufacturing under the ‘Make in India’ programme
couldn’t be better timed. India has the potential to become
the largest manufacturing hub in the world, and it is
possible to make manufacturing a quarter of our GDP,
from the current 15%.
Of course, manufacturing for the future will be vastly
different from how we have made goods in the past.
Technology disruptions will change how we manage
processes, deploy skills and create efficiencies.
Those in manufacturing will have to be nimble not just to
changing consumer preferences but also to the
introduction of robotics and artificial intelligence and how
deftly we re-skill our workforce. We will also need to address
the emerging market at the bottom of the pyramid.
For us to grow as a nation, it is imperative that we take
everyone along on our growth path. Through the Village
BuddhaProgramme,weareengagingleadersinmanufacturing
with village communities to bring about systematic societal
changes. CII's VLFM/CSM Programme has created more
than 1800 leaders, with 200 success stories.
With managers from over 1000 companies having
undergone the CII's VLFM/CSM Programme, we are
confident that our plan will achieve the kind of
breakthroughs and innovations necessary for tomorrow’s
India and for the kind of inclusive growth we all strive for.
I encourage the CII membership to join hands with us in
our endeavour.
CII’s VLFM Initiative is a national project launched in
2007. VLFM supports the Government of India’s
mission of creating and building best-in-class
manufacturing infrastructure and intellectual assets.
Over the last 9 years, India built a strong foundation of
Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing (VLFM) under the
guidance of Indian industry leaders and Padma Shri
Prof Shoji Shiba, the world renowned expert in
Breakthrough Management. We thank Prof Shiba for
starting this movement in the country and for guiding
our manufacturing sector. The unstinted support of the
Government of India and the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as the Academia
have made this programme a unique initiative.
CII is committed to scale up the VLFM initiative (now
called Champions for Societal Manufacturing CSM), to
create a pool of leaders who can manage global
companies in the face of a fast changing environment.
In the years ahead, the initiative will encompass a
larger number of SMEs into the VSME project to reach
the figure of 1000 Visionary SMEs and many more
Village Buddhas will be created to accelerate social
transformation and spur growth across India.
I would urge many more members to participate in this
programme and in the process not only build their own
companies but also contribute to nation building and
societal progress.
Venu Srinivasan
Chairman
CII-VLFM Initiative
Chandrajit Banerjee
Director General
CII
Dreams to Reality | 3

4. Village Buddha Progamme, in its new avatar, took
forward the idea of promoting entrepreneurship in rural
areas as a strategic development intervention that
could accelerate the process of holistic rural
development. TVS Institute of Quality and Leadership
(TVS-IQL) at Bengaluru once again witnessed this
historical journey.
The just concluded 5 days Module (March 9 to 13) on
Holistic Emerging Market Development saw 25
participants, including one international participant
from 11 companies come out with Breakthrough
business ideas. Aimed at enhancing the incomes of the
rural communities these were titled Science on Wheels
for Farm Buddha, Something Fishy, 10X Mushroom by
Cooperatives, My Home My Skill, Eggs of Prosperity,
Sparkling Cold Bath. A deep understanding of the
Villages achieved by ‘Jumping into the Fishbowl’
bundled with application of observation skills and the
Five Step Discovery Process gave the participants a
scientific and systematic way to discover, within a very
short duration, breakthrough ideas to meet the future
challenges of the villages.
Rural Entrepreneurship Gets
a New Ally - ‘VILLAGE BUDDHA’
-Module on ‘Holistic Emerging Market Development’
aligns corporates efforts towards income generation-
Like the previous four modules, this Module also lived
up to the expectations of Village Buddha’s basic
philosophy of building a strong relationship between
Business and Society, to create Win-Win for both.
Launched in 2014 with support from JICA, Village
Buddha is building a new mindset to support societal
development in a holistic and sustainable way. In a
short duration of two years, the Village Buddha
Community has expanded to 116 Industry change
makers from 25 companies.
Participants from companies which included Anand
Group, Bosch, Cummins, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co,
Maruti Suzuki India, Lady Bamford Charitable Trust
(JCB India Ltd), Tata Chemicals, TVS Motor and TVS
SST received certificates from Mr Venu Srinivasan,
Chairman VLFM Initiative & Past President, CII. While
congratulating the participants during the certificate
ceremony, he said, “The rate of change of Indian
villages is much more than the rate of change of Indian
cities. Village Buddha is helping corporates to deeply
understand these changing villages.”
4 | Dreams to Reality
Happy Society
Mr Venu Srinivasan, Chairman VLFM Initiative & Past President (CII) with participants of Village Buddha Module B on
“Holistic Emerging Market Development” at TVS Institute for Quality and Leadership (TVS_IQL), Bengaluru on 13 March, 2016.

5. The Journey of Holistic Emerging Market Development
Dreams to Reality | 5
Participants "Jumped in to the Village Fishbowl", made obervations and applied the Five Step Discovery Process to arrive at Breakthrough
Business Ideas within a short duration of 5 days

6. Guru Mantra
6 | Dreams to Reality
India Needs
Indian Way of
Management
and a Youth
Mindset
-Shoji Shiba, Chief Advisor
CSM Project
The 1st CSM Summit organised by the CII VLFM
Initiative parallel to the Make in India Week in
Mumbai, provided thought leadership in building
India’s capabilities to become a manufacturing hub.
What emerged out of the Summit is the need to
develop an Indian Way of Management for India to
become a global manufacturing hub. For achieving
this objective, the six pillars that need to be worked
upon include developing human skills, changing
mindsets, becoming frugal and innovative,
encouraging industry-academia partnership,
folding the society into the growth process and
building brand India.
With the Prime Minister inviting over 2300 global
companies to invest in India, the age of CSM is here.
India can become the largest manufacturing hub in the world with the dream of 25% of the
GDP coming from manufacturing becoming a reality. The Make in India (MII) initiative,
launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is providing the necessary framework
for this. To achieve this dream much work needs to be done by the industry as well.
st
Prof Shoji Shiba, Chief Advisor CSM Project, speaking at the 1 CSM Summit
held in Mumbai parallel to the Make in India Week
From L to R: Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, CII VLFM Initiative
and Past President CII, S N Tripathi, Additional Secretary &
Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME and
Amitabh Kant, then Secretary DIPP releasing the
JICA CSM Retrospect

7. Dreams to Reality | 7
For harnessing this opportunity, we need
technology and money for sure but these are not
enough for success. India has the 3D advantage of
Democracy, Demand and Demography. India’s
Prime Minister has added the 4th D of Deregulation
and yet another D of Determination can be added to
these. Once India is deregulated many
opportunities will open up. It is the visionary leaders
who will be able to grasp these opportunities and
enable the country to harness the demographic
dividend.
CII’s VLFM/CSM Programme is creating visionary
leaders with a Youth Mindset and developing the
Indian Way of Management. India does not need
the US or Japanese way of management, but needs
to diffuse its own breakthroughs through its
crusaders.
The CSM Programme is pursuing these three
directions that are necessary to accelerate the
future by connecting with Make in India.
CII’s Champions for Societal Manufacturing (CSM)
programme (erstwhile VLFM Programme), a
national project launched in 2007, is one such step
of the industry. Recognised as being intrinsic and
vital to the Make in India (MII) initiative, this
programme is being coordinated by the
Members of the VLFM Community at the 1st CSM
Summit held in Mumbai during the Make in India Week
From L to R: Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, CII Western Region, Dr Sarita Nagpal, Advisor, CII VLFM Initiative, Prof Shoji Shiba, Chief Advisor CSM
Project, Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, CII VLFM Initiative, S N Tripathi, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, Amitabh
Kant, then Secretary, DIPP, Yoshiaki Ito, Consul General of Japan in Mumbai, Govt of Japan, Dr Pawan Goenka, Executive Director & Group President
(Auto & Farm Sector), Mahindra & Mahindra, Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India, Ramesh Abhishek, In-coming Secretary, DIPP at the
1st CSM Summit held in Mumbai during the Make in India Week
Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)
since 2014. It supports the Government of India’s
mission of creating and building best-in-class
manufacturing infrastructure and intellectual
assets. For the last nine years, the CSM/VLFM
Programme of CII has been working in the three
directions outlined above. I encourage the Indian
manufacturing sector to work towards developing
the Indian Way of Management and strive to
achieve breakthroughs that will take them ahead in
the future.

8. Success Story
8 | Dreams to Reality
A Journey of Breakthrough
and Transformation
VLFM triggers transformation, company achieves new milestones
When Neelesh joined the VSME Programme in
2014, he did not know he was taking his first steps
towards not only transforming his company
Creintors Teknosol Pvt Ltd but also transforming
himself as a person. It was, ofcourse a chance
conversation with his business partner, at a time
when they were focusing on strengthening the
manufacturing culture, that opened the doors of the
"Visionary Small and Medium Enterprise" (VSME)
programme for him. Much later, in 2015, Neelesh
was intrigued by the unique VLFM Programme and
he explored more with the VSME mentors, Mr C S
Patel and Mr Saideep Rathnam. Neelesh says “The
course content and structure convinced me that this
was a Once a Life time Opportunity and THE course
which would help me build the skills to lead my
organization to the next leap of growth.” So
convinced was he that he decided to take a bank
loan to pay the programme fees of Rs 10 lacs for two
participants.
While the VLMi programme was the stepping stone
to VLFM for Creintors, it also helped to setup
efficient plant operations based on the pull concept.
Developed keeping in mind the three key concepts
of Flow, Quality and Variety the company is now
confident of setting up facilities of any magnitude
necessary to meet the market demand.
Neelesh Chogule receiving the National Award for "Product Innovation in Electronics and Security Category from
Kalraj Mishra, Union Cabinet Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises”.
This is the story of Neelesh Bhimrao Chougule, a first generation entrepreneur from Belgaum,
who underwent complete personal transformation, leading the company to achieve breakthrough
results and international accolades.

9. Dreams to Reality | 9
The one year VLFM journey, preceded by the VSME
journey, slowly but surely started transforming
Neelesh. The inspiring speeches of CEOs, the
mentors, the Self Initiated Research in Japan, skills
of observation, listening to others, note taking,
interviewing and making presentation have all had a
deep rooted impact on him.
“I have always understood, appreciated and applied
a systems based approach. This has been so in my
entrepreneurial journey as well as in expansion
and diversification of the business. With VLFM
I understood the missing element in me i.e. the Big-
’M’ thinking”, emphasizes Neelesh. He also tuned
his management style for strengthening the
organisation and nurturing leadership at all levels.
With personal and organisational transformation,
also came breakthrough products and national
recognition. Creintors won the National Award for
“Product Innovation in Electronics and Hardware
Security”, in the Small Scale Industries Category.
The award winning product “Insert Dispenser” is an
ideal example of a product based on the latent
needs of the customer converted into a model and
then a prototype.
VLFM learnings were the key to this innovation
award. The working prototype made before learning
from VLFM, was far from satisfactory. “I always felt
the lack of clarity and future strategy leading to a low
self confidence. I was never able to spell it out
though, because I did not know how to” is how
Neelesh puts it.
The product resulting from the application of VLFM
learnings is a customer delight. The Big ‘M’
approach helped the company understand the
integrated product needs, based on which R&D was
initiated finally giving 3 families of the product. The
product which is “CE” marked and under “UL”
certification is in readiness for a US launch in
September 2016 at the “IMTS” Exhibition.
This is the outcome of applying the VLFM learnings;
it is THE way for Neelesh and his colleagues to
move ahead and take their companies to newer
breakthroughs.
“The course content and structure
convinced me that this was a Once
a Life time Opportunity and THE
course which would help me build
the skills to lead my organization to
the next leap of growth.”
Neelesh Bhimrao Chougule
The Winning Team The Winning Products

10. Awards & Accolades
10 | Dreams to Reality
Designing breakthrough products, that meet the
latent needs of the customers, require jumping into
the fishbowl, swimming with the fish and making
observations. Listening to the Voice of the
Customer gives deep understanding of the
customers’ lifestyle, their behavior, social dynamics
amongst others. The insights achieved during the
process when analysed using the Five Step
Discovery Process bring out new insights. Over the
last nine years 1800 senior managers from India’s
manufacturing companies have learnt these skills
through CII’s VLFM initiative, and many have
received global recognition and accolades.
The most recent breakthrough product to receive
global recognition is the Godrej Edge Digi
refrigerator, which received the prestigious G-Mark
Award from Japan. India’s first hybrid Auto Defrost
Refrigerator had been developed, and it remains
unchallenged in the Indian market even by the
middle of 2016. The target Indian Customers for this
product often consider a Refrigerator as a status
symbol and keep it in their drawing rooms. The
Edge Digi was thus given a fascia design, a
departure from the industry norm at that time.
Learning and Practice are
a Continuous Process;
Lead to Breakthrough Results
The Award Winning Edge Digi Refrigerator with Fascia Design

11. Dreams to Reality | 11
The G Mark award places importance upon
selecting products that contribute to and make a
positive impact on society and industry. The
screening is done taking into account aspects of
humanity, honesty, innovation, aesthetics and
ethics. And the Godrej Edge Digi Refrigerator came
out on top on all these aspects.
The development of Edge Digi enabled Godrej to
move from the Mass Market to the Premium Market
in Single Door Refrigerators. In 2014, the mass
market was a Red Ocean characterized by fierce
competition.
The Edge Digi Team at Godrej was being led by
Suhas Kulkarni and Bhasker P S, both VLFM
Graduates who have also been faculty on the VLFM
programme. In this eight-year journey of learning,
practicing and training, the VLFM tools became
second nature to both of them. They achieved a
breakthrough unlocking of mindset which enabled
them to take a larger perspective of the business
and develop a product that ultimately won
international recognition.
Suhas Kulkarni says that the opportunity to learn as
a VLFM faculty was a unique learning experience.
Teaching is the best way to learn; each opportunity
to go back to VLFM as faculty led to clearer
and deeper understanding of the concepts.
Prof Shiba emphasizes that from acquiring
knowledge to becoming a master is a continuous
process of practice. It is practice that creates
understanding leading to skill and then mastery.
The team got the motivation to challenge this award
from a very simple but thought provoking question
raised to them by Mr Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman,
Godrej & Boyce – “What Next”, he asked them when
they had presented to him the concept after winning
the India Design Mark. This completely changed the
mindset of the team and they now follow the “What
Next” philosophy and practice VLFM Tools to scale
newer heights.
Jumping into the Fishbowl gave an opportunity to the
G-Mark team to observe how customers use the
Refrigerator
The Edge Digi Team in Japan at the G-Mark
Award Ceremony
The Edge Digi Team with Mr Jamshyd Godrej Chairman,
Godrej & Boyce at a function in Mumbai

12. For details please contact:
Mr Nitin Sharma, Counsellor, CII, Plot No. 249-F, Sector 18, Udyog Vihar Phase IV, Gurgaon, Haryana 122015
Phone: 0124 401 4084 Email: nitin.sharma@cii.in
"Many leaders have emerged from CII's
VLFM Programme and many companies
have achieved success as well as
several awards and recognition."
"Many leaders have emerged from CII's
VLFM Programme and many companies
have achieved success as well as
several awards and recognition."
Amitabh Kant, Former Secretary, DIPP
"Through VLFM Programme, there
is a transformation of mindset
amongst manufacturing leaders"
J N Godrej, Past Chairman,
CII-VLFM Initiative
“VLFM has set an unique example
of successful Collaboration Model
amongst Industry – Academia –
Government"
S Gopalakrishnan, Past President, CII

13. Dreams to Reality | 13
How was the VSME programme suitable for your
organization?
What changes did you observe in your Organization
after the VSME programme?
Tata Motors has grown manifolds in the past couple of
decades. While we have established production
processes, what we needed was to standardise the
basic processes across all plants. This would help to
smoothly cater to the market from various
manufacturing locations across India. We were able to
achieve just that with the VSME tools for production
planning, scheduling, requesting materials from
external suppliers, and assignment of manpower
based on activities, etc. It is a completely integrated
approach impacting all areas of manufacturing.
Supplier Relationship
Transformation Brings
10X Results
Tata Motors to Once Again
Contribute to Indian Manufacturing
The most important change that VSME brings about is
mindset change for example do and demonstrate, and
encouraging people to report problems. A key change
that is visible in the production processes is workload
planning, making pattern and daily scheduling. The
line keepers now PULL materials for assembly and
suppliers receive “Delivery Request” every day based
on actual consumption.
The primary issue that the management faced was
“Market fluctuations not to be passed to customers /
suppliers” – this required creating “Flow” in operations.
What was critical to the management, and how did
VSME help you to address these?
Prof Shoji Shiba, Chief Adviser CSM Project and Mr Takeyuki Furuhashi, JICA Expert for VSME with managers from the Tata Motors Plant
Mr P K Chobe, Sr Vice President, Tata Motors talks about their VSME Journey and how it is
transforming their plants as well as their relationship with the Suppliers
In Conversation

14. 14 | Dreams to Reality
Annual flagship event of the VLFM / CSM Community
on August 1, 2016, Mumbai
Announcing the
8th Learning Convention
The Learning Convention will be an opportunity to
get exposure to unique success stories and listen
to industry leaders.
Ÿ Learning Sessions, including Success Story
presentations
Ÿ Graduation Ceremony (VLFM and VSME
Participants)
Ÿ Recognition of Support Faculty (VLFM and
VSME courses)
Featuring
This Annual Learning Convention of the
VLFM/CSM programme is a much awaited forum
for the graduates of different batches. They
enthusiastically congregate in Mumbai on this
day, strengthening the VLFM Community,
exchanging experiences and learning from each
other.
We invite the VLFM Community Members as well
as Industry Leaders to come and experience
the unique energy of India’s Manufacturing
Community
For details please contact
Shailesh Tiwari, CII, Plot No. 249-F, Udyog Vihar Phase IV, Gurgaon, Haryana 122015
Phone: 0124 401 4084 | Email shailesh.tiwari@cii.in
Sector 18,

15. Dreams to Reality | 15
In addition we also had certain typical situations on
hand for e.g. while there were materials in the stores,
yet the right ones were not available; there was a
struggle to sell some models of vehicles and yet it was
challenge to reach the other models to the market.
When we studied the material procurement process,
we found that there were no standard formulae to procure
materials in the right quantities and at the right time.
Apart from these challenges we had several
requirements while driving the changes that I have just
mentioned– We needed a solution that could be
replicated across all our plants; we needed a
programme with well-defined milestones to ensure that
radical changes in established practices are
implemented and we needed an organization that
would help us in the transformation process. We
needed a master coach, a guide, a mentor who could
take the team along the way of transformation.
In VSME we found the answers to all our challenges.
VSME is all about creating flow of operations between
OE and suppliers. We found in Mr Furuhashi the coach
and guide that we were looking for. VSME was thus the
perfect solution to meet the management challenges.
We have named our project Supplier Relationship
Transformation(SRT),whichisentirelybasedonVSME.
The time for the material request has been fixed,
numbers are indicated in complete unit size thus
eliminating partial bin deliveries. The time of dispatch is
now predetermined and so is the unloading of vehicles.
What are the changes in the way your suppliers work
after VSME & how has it solved supplier related
problems?
Being relieved of surprise requests from Tata Motors,
the Suppliers now maintain a finished goods stores
which is not linked to the production at our end. All
suppliers under the programme have thus been able to
achieve 100% delivery performance and quality issues
have also reduced. With the new procurement system
under SRT flow concepts, we generally don’t have to
make compromises.
We have set ourselves objectives related to both our
organisation as well as those related to Indian
manufacturing. In the first phase, we have created a
“Centre of Excellence” to diffuse SRT to all our plants,
and internal and external suppliers to our vehicle
assembly lines. With a view to contributing to Indian
manufacturing we will create templates explaining the
transformation process, develop the software
programmes on open platforms and share our success
stories. Whenever any organisation decides to
implement VSME (or SRT), they can refer to these
assets which are contemporarily developed and
established in Indian environment.
VSME is very different from other improvement
projects. In VSME, a flow is created starting from
customer demand. Various tier levels are identified
and processes of all tiers are synchronised to each
What do you aim to achieve with VSME in the next 2-3
years?
Now that the project is one year old in the five of your
plants, what in your view are the unique or salient
features of the VSME, as different from other
improvement projects?
Prof Shoji Shiba with Mr P K Chobe at the Tata Motors Training Centre in Pune. In the background are the Tata Motors SRT Faculty
getting ready for the Module

16. 16 | Dreams to Reality
Why do you think VSME is appropriate to Indian
Manufacturing and how do you think this should reach
out to more and more organizations?
What are the three most impressive changes in your
plant, beyond operational results?
What are the most impressive changes you have seen
amongst your suppliers (Internal and external) during
the course of the year?
Indian industry is made up of entrepreneurs and is thus
characterised by little standardization of business
practices and low levels of efficiency. Success
depends on the wisdom and intelligence of the
entrepreneur. VSME enables organisations to create
the basic structure of manufacturing business. It
creates a common language, processes and tools,
that can mesh between organisations. Hence it is most
appropriate to Indian Manufacturing.
• The assembly lines started pulling aggregates and
parts required to assemble the vehicles as per their
sequence.
• We understood the science behind the VSME tools
and hence harnessed improvement potentials of
magnitude 10X
• Daily schedules to internal and external suppliers
are based on actual consumption
• Trust in customer schedules and maintaining
100% delivery performance
• Trust in TML Initiatives given that they are based
on the “Do & Demonstrate principle”
other. There are several challenges in the process -
creating a store for finished goods, generating an
Assembly Sequence List, making common trolleys to
name a few. In the earlier context such improvements
would fall under different functions and thus the
improvements were not aligned to a common
objective. Often improvements in one area could
become an impediment to another. SRT drives the
improvements as an integrated project across a line or
a plant which are always aligned to a common goal.
Apart from being based on the Flow Concept the three
keyaspectsofVSME,whichmakeitdifferentareasfollows:
• SRT integrates common sense into scientific tools.
It identifies tier structure - that explains who is the
supplier and who is the customer. It also spells out
what a request is and the delivery between the two.
Meeting deliveries is the first step towards a good
relationship between a supplier and a customer.
• Forming a community lies at the centre of the
VSME concept. A member of VSME or SRT is a
collaborator beyond organizations. Members of
community help and work with each other without
fear of confidentiality or exploitation. All are equal
and all believe in learning together. This increases
the available resources manifolds.
• SRT is about using a common language. It uses
some very specific words or terms. A word has only
one meaning and one interpretation which is
known and used by all members of the community.
This greatly reduces misinterpretations in
communication.
How will you describe or explain VSME or SRT to a
manufacturing head?
Mr Furuhashi Takeyuki, JICA Expert for VSME along with the Senior Management Team of Tata Motors at their Plant in Pune

17. Dreams to Reality | 17
Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee recently resonated the belief of the
former President of India, Late Dr Abdul Kalam, when he said
. Ten years ago, it was Dr Kalam
who requested Prof Shiba to help Indian manufacturing and also bring together the
industry and academia. This has thus been an unchanging principle of the CSM/VLFM
initiative which the project has successfully achieved over the last nine years.
"The Make in India
initiative, aimed at making our country a manufacturing hub, depends to a large extent
on the deepening of the academia-industry alliance”
Industry – Academia
Partnering for India’s Growth
Participants of the VLM PGPEX Programme during the Japan Visit Module of their course.
Seated in the front row Centre (L to R) Prof Shoji Shiba, Chief Advisor CSM Project, H.E. Mr. Sujan R. Chinoy, Ambassador of
India to Japan and Mr Furuhashi Takeyuki, JICA CSM Expert with members of the Japanese industry and academia

18. 18 | Dreams to Reality
The PGPEX-VLM Programme, being implemented
under the CSM Project is a unique programme that
fulfils the industry’s growing demand for techno-
managerial leaders who will shape the neo-industrial
revolution. The course is being conducted jointly by 3
premier institutes of India viz. IIM Calcutta, IIT Kanpur
and IIT Madras with support from Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII), Department of Industrial and
Promotion (DIPP) and Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The one-year full time residential programme has a
built-in manufacturing focus that enables participants
to appreciate an industry’s metamorphosis in the
highly competitive times. CII, as a key partner and
implementer of other programmes under CSM Project,
has worked shoulder to shoulder with the academia to
help Indian manufacturing forge ahead. CII often
supports PGPEX-VLM Programme with industry
speakers and faculty during the 15 days Boot Camp
conducted by Prof Shoij Shiba, Chief Advisor, CSM
Project and other joint learning initiatives.
The 10th Batch of PGPEX-VLM for 2016-17 was
inaugurated on April 4 2016. CII organised interactions
with two CEO’s under IIMC’s guest lecture series. Dr A
K Chattopadhyay, Ex Managing Director, TRL Krosaki
Refractories Ltd and Mr T K Mukherjee, Managing
Director, Pheonix Conveyor Belt India Pvt Ltd who
inspired the participants and helped hone their
leadership skills. These interactions, as the many
others organised in the past, will guide the middle
management level executives to develop into the much
needed skilled executives of India’s manufacturing
Sector.
Two Senior Managers who are also Faculty on CII’s
Senior Managers’ Course, Mr Suhas Kulkarni from
Godrej & Boyce Co. Ltd. and Mr Sachin Tyagi from
Cummins India Ltd. shared their success stories with
the current batch of PGPEX-VLM and also supported
course implementation by Prof Shoji Shiba.
Prof Shoji Shiba lighting the Inaugural Lamp of Batch X of the VLM-PGPEX Programme. Also seen in the picture are Mr Saibal
Chattopadhyay, Director, IIM Calcutta and Mr Mitsuo Kawaguchi, Consul General of Japan in Kolkatta
Prof Shoji Shiba with H.E. Mr. Sujan R. Chinoy
Ambassador of India to Japan during the SIR Presentation
of VLM_PGPEX Students in Japan in February 2016

19. Dreams to Reality | 19
Book Review
Learning Through
Observations
Written By:
Mr G Sunderraman
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development,
Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd
Under Mentorship of:
Prof Shoji Shiba
Chief Advisor, Champions for Societal Manufacturing
Copyright © 2015 Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, JICA and CII
“Learning Through Observations” is a masterpiece by
Mr G Sunderraman. It strikes a unique chord with the
reader by dealing with a yet unexplored subject in a
very interesting and simple manner. Through this
creation, the Author has shared, for the benefit of a
larger community, his learnings of almost a decade
resulting from the practice of Prof Shoji Shiba's
methods.
While this journey of learning, for Mr Sunderaman,
began about a decade back, soon after he met Prof
Shiba in 2004, the real trigger to initiate this publication
came with his short visits to the Villages in Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Tamilnadu. These he undertook in
connection with CII’s new Village Buddha programme
during November 2013 to February 2015.
This book has done absolute justice to establishing
“Observations Skill” as a critical leadership skill in
today’s environment undergoing continuous 10X
change. The Author’s own notes say “Observations
begin as basic skills, develop as a comprehensive
practice and turn into a discipline over time to
transform leaders.”
The uniqueness of this book lies in the real life
examples from Rural India being blended with an
insightful commentary which reflects the author’s deep
wisdom. Further, the Core Principles and Methods are
explained followed by demonstration of the practice as
a specific bundle of skills in real life explorations in the
villages. His tips for observation trips will also come in
very handy for the readers. This book is a real treat to
the readers who wish to practice the learnings as they
read and absorb.
I am sure many leaders will benefit by practicing these
observation skills after going through this practical
guide from the personal account of the Author.
Happy Reading, Happy Learning!

20. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to
create and sustain an environment conducive to the
development of India, partnering industry,
Government, and civil society, through advisory and
consultative processes.
CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led
and industry-managed organization, playing a
proactive role in India's development process.
Founded in 1895, India's premier business
association has over 8000 members, from the private
as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs,
and an indirect membership of over 200,000
enterprises from around 240 national and regional
sectoral industry bodies.
CII charts change by working closely with
Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought
leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness
and business opportunities for industry through a
range of specialized services and strategic global
linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-
building and networking on key issues.
Extending its agenda beyond business, CII assists
industry to identify and execute corporate citizenship
programmes. Partnerships with civil society
organizations carry forward corporate initiatives for
integrated and inclusive development across diverse
domains including affirmative action, healthcare,
education, livelihood, diversity management, skill
development, empowerment of women, and water, to
name a few.
The CII theme for 2016-17, Building National
Competitiveness, emphasizes Industry’s role in
p a r t n e r i n g G o v e r n m e n t t o a c c e l e r a t e
competitiveness across sectors, with sustained
global competitiveness as the goal. The focus is on
six key enablers: Human Development; Corporate
Integrity and Good Citizenship; Ease of Doing
Business; Innovation and Technical Capability;
Sustainability; and Integration with the World.
With 66 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in
India, and 9 overseas offices in Australia, Bahrain,
China, Egypt, France, Germany, Singapore, UK, and
USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 320
counterpart organizations in 106 countries, CII serves
as a reference point for Indian industry and the
international business community
Confederation of Indian Industry
The Mantosh Sondhi Centre
23, Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003 (India)
T: 91 11 45771000 / 24629994-7 • F: 91 11 24626149
E: info@cii.in • W: www.cii.in
The CII-VLFM Initiative
CII’s Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing Initiative
(VLFM), now titled ‘Champions for Societal
Manufacturing’ is a flagship programme under the
Indo-Japan Joint Technical Cooperation
agreement.The programme has its genesis in the
request that Dr. Abdul Kalam, then President of
India made to Prof Shoji Shiba, world renowned
expert in Breakthrough Management to initiate a
process to lead India’s manufacturing sector into
growth.
This path breaking initiative, is being implemented
by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in
partnership with Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA), Government of Japan and
Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy
(DIPP), Government of India. The other partners in
the programme include Indian Institute of
Management, Calcutta, Indian Institute of
Technology, Kanpur and Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras.
The objective of CII’s Visionary Leaders for
Manufacturing (VLFM) Initiative is to develop a
pool of leaders who would steer the dynamic
growth of the Indian manufacturing sector in the
coming years. To date close to 1900 managers
from India’s manufacturing sector have undergone
the various programmes under VLFM umbrella
namely,
• Senior Manager’s Course
• PGPEX-VLM - Middle Level Manager’s Course
• Visionary CEO Course
• 1000 Visionary SME Programme and VLMi -
Visionary Laghu Udyog Mitra Mandal India
• Village Buddha Programme
For suggestions please contact Shailesh Tiwari,
Counselor, VLFM at shailesh.tiwari@cii.in
Membership Helpline: 00-91-124-4592966 / 00-91-99104 46244
CII Helpline Toll free No: 1800-103-1244