Insights In Hindsight - Edition 5
Deepak Narayanan
Founder & CEO @Practus | Harvard Business School (Owner President Management)
Zindagi Lambi Nahi, Soch Badi Honi Chahiye...
Does that take you back to the evergreen dialogue from the movie Anand? When Rajesh Khanna says, “Babumoshai, zingadi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi”, we feel a surge of emotions, don’t we? At that moment, we are in a collective consciousness of what we want to do in life, what we wish to achieve, all that makes us happy, and the thoughts and ideas that can make life exhilarating.
Recently, I had the pleasure of being a part of something that made me extremely happy. Something which has been an enriching and humbling experience at the same time like none other.
Okay then, without any further ado, let me tell you all about it. Well, in October 2022, I had the opportunity to attend the Owner/President Management (OPM) course program at Harvard Business School as a student. And what a bedazzled student I was!
Can you spot me on the left, fourth row from the bottom?
This was our class of 167 curious participants from 45 different nationalities! Even when I was there, it felt unreal. To be in this cohort of accomplished business leaders and wonderful coaches was extremely humbling, to say the least.
And I must introduce you to one of our wonderful professors, Lynda Applegate.
Lynda is 75 years young and so full of life that her energy was contagious.
Unit 1 of our OPM program was aimed at helping leaders think, and become better humans and leaders while managing the increasing demands of a growing business. With an emphasis on entrepreneurial leadership, the program was a unique learning experience for me. Some of the key topics we covered included performance management, entrepreneurship, finance, global markets, leadership, marketing, negotiations, operations and technology, sales, and strategy.
We looked at a broader global perspective, tried to get a deeper understanding of operations and gain greater insights into driving operational excellence. The objective was to gauge how to best advance a company’s agenda while ensuring leadership growth.
The HBS Approach
HBS uses case studies as a method to teach. We would discuss practical examples and exchange different points of view. Given the amazing diversity of our batch, the varied perspectives of my fellow participants were learnings in themselves. However, there was one common learning that emerged from most discussions – that team success rates were mostly higher than individual success rates.
Integrated Organizational Roles
An example of a framework that stuck me and something that I have been able to implement
As leaders, we cannot look at functions in isolation and must consider organizational goals. We need to be conscious and relook at the time we are allocating to various functions. After returning from HBS, I have started investing about 60% of my time in mentoring and enabling transformations from about 30-35% earlier.
Should Leaders Be Controlling?
Well, no! The obvious answer, right? However, there should be a system of checks and balances because we cannot look at growth and profits without looking at enabling control mechanisms.
Equally Critical Will Be A Governing Framework
Based on belief systems, boundary systems, interactive controls, and performance management, this framework forms the core of any organization. The belief system is the purpose behind the existence of a company. A Boundary system is anything that is non-negotiable for an organization, something that cannot be compromised. Interactive controls call for flexibility to respond based on changes in the external environment. For organizational performance management, the focus should be on a sharper definition of organizational goals and objectives, linking it to a performance management framework, linking it to individual goals, and tying it all back to rewards and recognition, this need not always be viewed from a monetary standpoint. In fact, the workforce largely gets motivated by regular appreciation and acknowledgment.?
The Road To Value Creation
We have to ask ourselves, are we creating value for our customers and suppliers? If we create or co-create value for our customers, the cost will not be a deterrent. On the other hand, if we are able to align with our suppliers and vendor partners and help them add value to their businesses, we will benefit from it too.
领英推荐
And talking about value creation and addition, I have to give due credit to the weather and the beauty of Harvard during fall!
The fall season made everything around us picturesque.?
Along with soaking in the learnings and the inspiration from fellow batch mates, I also made some friends for life
During the three weeks of the first unit of the OPM program, I have enjoyed every moment of every day as if it was my last!
As I gathered with my living group for the farewell dinner, I was overwhelmed. While there was a sense of joy in getting back home, we all knew that we would miss each other. Looking forward to Units 2 and 3 of the program in 2023 and 2024
Snippets Of Articles That May Interest You
Let Purpose Be Your North Star
What the North Star is to navigators, purpose is to our lives. Distinctly different from the various goals in our life, purpose doesn’t have an end date. Once we find purpose in life or the ‘why’, we can engage wholeheartedly with anything we intend to take up, personally or professionally. More
Trends That Could Redefine The Way Consulting Firms Operate Over The Next 3-5 Years
The world is changing rapidly, with technology making inroads into every walk of life and work. Financial consultancy is no different and is also experiencing the integration of technology in several areas. What trends can we look forward to in the financial consultancy sphere over the next 3-5 years? Read on
Updates From Practus
Recently, Venkat S, Co-Founder and CEO, Practus, and I, spoke to Business India about how technology will become increasingly critical for any business's finance function. We also discussed about our customized solutions that have helped our clients improve financial planning and analysis. More
How can FinTech companies improve budgeting and cash flows in operations? We suggest 3 simple ways. More
That's all for this month! See you all next month!
Amazingly put together Deepak Narayanan
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2 年Excellent write-up
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2 年Deepak Narayanan well put.