Conquering the Chaos: Win in India, Win Everywhere - Hardcover

Venkatesan, Ravi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1422184307 ISBN 13: 9781422184301

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013

Synopsis

India is back! With the country’s general elections in 2014 resulting in a government formed by a new political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by a business-friendly prime minister, Narendra Kumar Modi, the world’s largest democracy is once again on the minds of business leaders the world over.

The renewal of interest in India is all the greater because of what’s happening in neighboring China. For over thirty years, China was the growth engine for many Western multinational companies, but the combination of a slowing economy, rising wages, and increasing political risk has most companies looking for the next China.

No other country is better positioned to play that role than India.

In the short term, though, India will remain a challenging market, with a well-deserved reputation for corruption, uncertainty, and stultifying bureaucracy. Those hurdles are unlikely to go away soon. Yet India may be on the verge of unprecedented growth.

Can you afford to wait or should you plunge into this complex market today? What does it really take to win there? How do executives deal with India’s volatility, uncertainty, and intense competition—and even prosper from it?

Ravi Venkatesan, the former Chairman of Microsoft India and Cummins India, offers expert advice on how your company can overcome the unique challenges of the Indian market. He argues that India is in fact an archetype for most developing nations, many of which present similar challenges. Succeeding in India is important not just because it is a big market but also because it is a litmus test for your corporation’s ability to succeed in other emerging markets. If you can win in India, you should be able to win anywhere.

Hard as these frontier markets are, Venkatesan argues, the bigger hurdle may well be the internal culture and mind-set at a multinational’s headquarters. The unwillingness to make a long-term commitment or to adequately trust local leadership, combined with the propensity to rigidly replicate the products, business models, and operating systems that have worked at home, drives many companies into a “midway trap.” That often results in India remaining an irrelevantly small contributor to the company’s global growth and profits.

Combining personal experience and in-depth interviews with CEOs and senior leaders at dozens of companies—including Microsoft, GE, JCB, Dell, Honeywell, Volvo, Bosch, Deere, Unilever, and Nestlé—Venkatesan shows you how to tackle political changes, policy uncertainty, and corruption and thrive in India. He proves that you can break through, but it takes a very different type of leadership, both locally and at corporate headquarters.

If you want to succeed in the twenty-first century, you must succeed in emerging markets. This practical book, written by one of India’s most respected CEOs, gives you the keys to win in India, other emerging markets, and, indeed, globally.

About this title

About the Author

Ravi Venkatesan is the former Chairman of Microsoft India and Cummins India.

Under Venkatesan’s leadership between 2004 and 2011, India became Microsoft’s second-largest geography and one of its fastest growing markets. Microsoft India was rated one of the country’s most respected companies, among its most admired brands, and one of its best employers.

Prior to joining Microsoft, as the Chairman of Cummins India Venkatesan led its transformation into the country’s leading provider of power solutions and engines.

Venkatesan is currently a director on the boards of AB Volvo and Infosys and a member of the advisory board of Bunge Limited. He also serves on Harvard Business School’s Global Alumni Board. Venkatesan is a founder and Chairman of Social Venture Partners India, a network of engaged leaders attempting to address complex social issues through venture philanthropy.

Reviews

According to Venkatesan the market in India is a lead case for emerging markets; preparing for business in India is a global venture that requires not just "incremental evolution, but a paradigm shift." As a successful businessman who "build two billion dollar businesses for American companies in India" -Cummins Inc. and Microsoft- so Venkatesan is more than qualified to write this well-organized and thoughtful book. His main premise is that companies need to "win in India to be able to win everywhere else." The author patiently lays out steps corporations and their leaders must take to establish successful businesses in India, and includes several detailed case studies from companies as different as JCB ("India is the crown jewel in the JCB crown") and the lesser known Hindustan Unilever. The examples of creative solutions are fascinating; readers will learn why Microsoft India provides health insurance for employees and their parents and in-laws, and how McDonald's succeeds in a country where many Indians will not enter a restaurant if it serves beef or pork. Venkatesan also honestly and matter-of-factly addresses high levels of corruption in India, dryly adding that it is "far from being the most terrible country." This is a fascinating and informative book for anyone who wants to keep up on major trends in business.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1422184307
• ISBN 13: 9781422184301
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240