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02 The Message

What is the underlying message?

One of the most famous passages from Alice in Wonderland is when Alice asks the caterpillar where a road leads to, and to which the caterpillar asks Alice where she wants to go. Alice replies by saying she does not want to go anywhere particular. On hearing this, the caterpillar says, ‘… then it does not matter where this road leads to’. If you do not know where you want to go, then it does not matter where you are going.

In the daily rut of transactions, it is very easy for anyone to lose sight of the bigger picture. The same happens with me. While teaching on various topics, providing consulting, conducting operational and process audits of different types of programs across different industries in different time zones, and traveling from one airport to another, with an occasional stopover at home to let my wife know I exist, it is sometimes possible to lose sight of what is the basic, fundamental underlying message that one is trying to convey to the clientele, the industry and people at large.

I have decided to therefore spend this time jotting down what the basic, fundamental message that is being conveyed, which works as a backdrop behind providing advice to clients, training students and evaluating organizations. Although the specific messages might vary from situation to situation, the root remains constant and unchanging.

I have managed to put this message in the following three manifestations, which on the whole is what I would believe to be the ‘Zen of Business’. It is perhaps too simplistic to codify such a complex concept in just three bullet points, but like they say, if it is not simple, it is probably not worth it.

So, here are the three key messages:

1. Value for values:

• What this means is - Identify your core ideology, which could be a combination of core values and an overall purpose.
• Values are tricky. Some keep changing. But some values like ‘integrity’ and ‘customer-centricity’ never change. Identify these and respect them. Live by them. They are worth fighting for.
• When all the dust settles, and you find that you are the last man standing, you should know what you stand for.


2. Processes work:

• Processes give results, usually consistently. So institutionalize. Set processes. Go by processes. This helps reduce variability. As Jim Collins says ‘build the clock, more than being a time teller’.
• Believe in the processes. Most problems are solved if you set the processes right. So give due consideration to the process, and not only to the people. Like MKG says, albeit in a totally different context - ‘Hate the sin, not the sinner’.

3. Ensure action:

• Don’t sit idle. Keep learning. Keep doing. You can’t do the same thing again and again over years, without challenging it, without questioning it. Don’t take anything for granted.
• Experiment with numbers. Set new hypotheses, test them. Select some of them, and reject the others. But keep forming your conjunctures, and keep putting them to test.
• A subservient message here is - Base your decisions on data, and not on ‘atmospheric’ analysis. Ask for the basis for everything. Most of the things are logical in the world, so ask for the logic behind what you see.

There. It is that simple.

These three are the pillars for foundation for a strong and successful business. All the efforts that we put in place for our clients are to ensure that these three pillars are strongly laid, on which a strong and successful structure of operational excellence will be erected. Sometimes this message is loud and clear. Sometimes it is subtle. Sometimes, I must admit, it gets lost in the clutter of notes, reports, minutes of the meetings and lists of action items.

But now that this is listed down, I hope this will provide a foundation for all discussions that follow on this blog, and we can get down to discussing nitty-gritty details of processes and operational excellence.

Best
- Shreekant
12 January 2010

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