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6 Lessons which Corporate India Leadership should not Ignore
Water boils at 100 ° C. It may be very hot at 99 ° C, but the whole surface of the water
changes just 1 ° C later. The ghastly gang rape might be just that 1 ° C which has brought
India to boil. It is impossible to remain detached from the happenings which are unfolding
every day. While the entire nation is rightly focussed on making India safer for women and
children, on this New Year Eve I will be sharing my thoughts on 6 lessons which Corporate
India Leadership should take from this ghastly incident apart from women safety.
1. Make Frequent Deep Dive into the Trenches: ‘Too little & Too late’ was the phrase
which described the Government of India’s (GoI) reaction to the national sentiment.
It is clear that the politicians lead highly insulated lives making them incapable of
keeping an ear to the ground. In the corporate world, the higher we go we tend to
become insulated from our ground; our frontline employees, our customers, our
vendors etc. The voice of the ground takes the form of reports and data. While , I
understand the pressure of time , I believe that a day spent by a CEO in a month
speaking to a consumer with a complaint , or working with the salesman on his two
wheeler can only add to the value of the reports which flow in the CEO’s inbox.
Hence, mark a day in the calendar every month to meet a customer / company
junior salesman / factory worker on his / her turf. You just may be surprised at the
insights gained.
2. Strengthen your organization where it really matters: Every policeman guarding a
politician means one pair of feet less to guard the citizens. Many organizations over
a period of time acquire ‘white elephants’. These are senior managerial staff posts
created generally with a nebulous purpose of accommodating people who have
outlived their usefulness to the organization. The math is simple. A Director Special
Projects may be drawing a package which can be equivalent of the compensation of
an entire Regional Sales Team covering 1 state. The simple question CEO’s should ask
themselves “Would I have paid this package to this person had I been the owner of
the company?” The answer will be clear.
©2012 Vikram A Munshi – WhiteSpace Consulting & Capability Building

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3. Beware of ‘Kiss up & Kick Down’ Leaders: You will agree that the face of the police
which the politicians in power see is vastly different from the face seen by the
common citizens whom the same police are there to serve. A leader’s job is also to
serve. Thus, do give a thought to that department head, which is constantly at your
side, replying to your mails, flattering you in ceremonious corporate functions and
hanging to your every word. If he is at your side every time giving you attention,
what attention will he be giving his team? As per the legendary Jack Welch, these
leaders are the most dangerous in an organization that need to be smoked out and
taken care of relentlessly. This has to be a continual endeavour because the
corporate climate is conducive to creating these types of leaders.
4. Keep the focus clear on the issue and action: Yesterday one of the reputed news
channels in a panel discussion was lambasting the GoI on the insensitivity shown last
week and then veered as to why the secrecy was maintained during the cremation.
To me this is not the central issue. The discussion should be on what the GoI be
acting on now ; namely a calling a special additional session in parliament to
strengthen molestation and rape laws and secondly fast tracking in bringing the
criminals of this case to justice. Similarly , most of us in corporate would have
experienced attending meetings which degenerate into fault finding without a
concrete action being recommended and reviewed periodically to check its
implementation. Therefore as a leader, be the voice of reason which is like a rudder
to keep the key issues in line as your organization or department aligns itself to act
on it.
5. Do not let small disciplinary issues be overlooked: A lewd comment overlooked may
give rise to a grope, which in turn to molestation and then to a rape. I am referring
to the ‘Broken Windows’ phenomenon here, where people simply breaking windows
of public property if unchecked graduates them to major crimes. Human beings are
very susceptible to gradual decay of values and discipline. Do you have senior people
in your organizations that arrive late to work every day and no one tells them
anything as they are ‘performers’? Are there people who accept small favours during
Diwali from vendors? Are there managers who frequently plan tours in their home
town? There are numerous signals of a company’s discipline breaking down. It is
imperative that the senior leadership does not overlook these as they weaken an
organization and its competitiveness over a period of time.
©2012 Vikram A Munshi – WhiteSpace Consulting & Capability Building

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6. Be the change you want to see: This is an oft repeated statement but this is the
cornerstone on which all the above rest. You will agree that to bring change the GoI
has to act and demonstrate the change .As a senior leader you are the voice and the
culture of the organization. You are the custodian of the values of the organization.
What you set by example is what will be followed down the line, good or bad. Thus,
you have to live and demonstrate those values every single moment.
These are a few thoughts that I wanted to share with every senior leader of Corporate India
on New Year’s Eve. Do go over these points once more. Try to see to what degree it applies
to your organization. Go over your leadership team with a fine toothcomb and take action
wherever necessary. Your organization will thank you for it.
Vikram A Munshi
©2012 Vikram A Munshi – WhiteSpace Consulting & Capability Building