CIOs and Innovations: The Key to Sustaining Vast Organisations

When it comes to leading the leaders, even leaders fumble to find the most effective and practical ways. Best, as they say - 'simplicity is the best strategy.'

I resonated the most with this veteran CIO and now an HR Leader too, when he advised to learn by admitting "I don’t know anything”. In the ClariTea Chat? with Rajesh Uppal, Sr. Executive Director (IT & HR) at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, he also quoted - ‘‘Dirty your hands & Live with Humility.”?

We had a fun conversation, starting with how he shifted from BHEL to Maruti. As Uppal quoted, “chalo do kaam ikathe ho jaenge (two things will be done at once)” he booked a ticket for Delhi to give an interview in the Maruti Suzuki while focusing on preps for his marriage.?

Here are the 3 Ideas Worth Sharing from his overall conversation.?

The conversation then led to Maruti. And how did IT come before manufacturing in Maruti? And how to keep the processes lean with IT??

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• IT - A Business Vertical: In 1983-84, the visionary leaders of that time created IT as a separate vertical. The whole culture of Maruti was that 'IT was the only way to work.'?
• Lean & Efficient System:- Build a lean & wastage-free system. Look at the process, and identify where inefficiency exists. Get rid of it, trust people with the process ownership. But balance trust with controls.?
• Implement control checks:- Keep checks and balances e.g. auto approve the invoices but keep a control with random sample counting. Maintain the balance between lean process implementation and controls.?
• Training People:-? The challenge is not to just maintain the IT efficiency, but finding and training people who can sustain those applications.??

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IT is the field that can identify all the inefficiencies in any function.

Taking the conversation forward to systematic innovation and digital adoption....

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Sustaining Vast Organization:- To run a vast organization, you need to sustain the processes. Also, innovations need to go in parallel.?

Right profile of people:- Look for people who can experiment. Create business cases around change and new initiatives. So that we can change the business to the next level, or transform it in the future.??

Innovation and sustaining IT should run simultaneously:- Separate team to look at innovation, and sustaining the organization. Both teams need different skills, but both have to work together.?

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Mr. Rajesh Uppal told us the story behind Maruti Suzuki Virtual Academy. It eventually got him to managing the HR function as well. So the question arises, how do you manage multiple functions??

• No Micromanagement:- Get the right people to manage each function. Don’t micromanage. Give direction and let them perform. Give empowerment and let them try.?

Do you think there is a Nirvana stage in technology? Rajesh Uppal told the most significant differentiator factor for technology to sustain the innovation conversations forward.?

• Continuous Innovation:- Technology innovations are very short-lived. The organization needs to raise the bar through constant innovation.??
• Don’t limit your vision :-? Technology is never the limiting factor. Understand and visualize what more innovation can be done using technology. Find new opportunities for business using technologies and keep doing that regularly.?

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Dealing with change management is not a simple cup of tea. So how to drive change management???

• Information Transparency:- To set up a system and implement change management, a lot of information transparency is required. It makes many people uneasy. And that's the change management challenge - how to engage with them.
• Managing Disruptions:- Focus on what’s right for the business. Be clear about it. Making a new IT system is fifty percent of the task. The rest fifty percent is driving the change.?

Let’s get an answer to a non-IT question from an IT perspective. How to overcome supply chain pressures e.g. the semiconductor shortage??

• ?Risk Management Process:- Focus on risk management through technology - it has not been that strong traditionally. Everyone is focusing on the business systems. But driving technology-based risk management is very much need of the hour.?
• Mapping:-? Map all your supply change linkages and create visibility. Creating visibility inside that can give the early signals.??

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Our conversations shifted gears. We moved towards the discussion of building an entirely new business with IT enablement. And how to effectively manage partners and retain the team.?

• Leveraging Technology:-? to build new business verticals. Maruti built insurance business, which was an altogether different vertical, using technology.?
• Focus on customer needs:- Unleash innovative thinking. Take it for granted that technology will be able to do it. And do not take no for an answer from technology folks.?
• Create cross-functional COEs:- To implement emerging technology, create some cross-functional business teams. Get the capability built through the right kind of partnership. Let people start working together and then come back with observations and opportunities.?
• ?Involve your partners:- They are the ones innovating, working with other people, and bringing that change.?Involve them, make them feel part of your team.

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What is the most critical transition from leading people to leading leaders as you grow up in your career? Mr Uppal gave an introspective answer to it.?

• Improve your capability:-Keep on learning and building capabilities.? Keep capability building as the agenda for yourself to drive future leaders.?
• Delegate, Empower & Trust: This approach to creating leaders is critical. So is making sure that they become capable of driving independently going forward. ?

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To conclude: Leaders need more understanding to lead and manage other leaders. These strategies will help them with best practices to lead the leaders.??

The conversation was full of learning about:

1. Building a lean and waste-free enterprise.
2. Use of innovation and digitalization to sustain vast organizations.
3. How to plan and inject change management into the system.??

Did you learn how to future-ready your organization? How to build a strong team and leverage your partners??

Here is the video recording of the ClariTea Chat between Jagdish and Rajesh Uppal.

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