‘Interdependence’ – an important 'Core value' in the connected world

‘Interdependence’ – an important Core value in the connected world

A few years ago I experienced the business transformation journey in an engineering company. One of the biggest (and most important) challenges we encountered was to reinforce the value of ‘interdependence’ in various functions within the organization. The senior management consistently and transparently communicated to people about the positive impact of ‘interdependence’ on business the growth through monthly news letter.

The senior management also clearly stated that interdependence is the ‘Life line’ of the organizational systems & processes and without which the aspiration of the organization to transform would be nearly impossible. The intention of senior management was also to help people see that we live in the world which is highly connected and interdependent. The HR team, along with the Line managers worked on building and strengthening the culture of interdependence across the organization…and it worked well for the organization in their 2020 journey of business transformation…it also exceeded the target of planned business growth!

Now let us look at the latest news line…

It is interesting to note that The Economic Times, New Delhi, 30th January 2020 has reported that ‘Coarnavirus’ may leave industries sick in India. It further states that pandemic threatens to cut Pharma industry’s lifeline as supply of crucial raw material from the Middle Kingdom (China) may be severely impacted. Truly we live in the world of interdependence.

The value of interdependence has also touched deeply our behaviors and personal life…yesterday; I had been to a Mall in New Delhi with my long shopping list. On returning home, I looked at my shopping bags and realized that I bought a shirt from India, tea from Sri Lanka, a T-shirt from Indonesia, fruits from New Zealand, bottles of honey from Philippines and a Jacket from Taiwan…a ‘mixed bag’ to fulfill me immediate needs!

My buying pattern also suggests that I am indirectly connected to the countries from where the products, which I bought, have been sourced. This connection also relates well to India’s social, economic and political ties with these countries.

To summarize:

A culture of interdependence is all about ‘being responsible’ and enrolling diverse players across the ecosystem, which also includes vendors & suppliers, channel partners, investors etc.

A culture of interdependence is also called a ‘blended culture’ due to the fact that the predominant feature here is that at any point of time, ‘diverse people’ interacting with the organizational systems & processes and working interdependently towards common objectives. Therefore, people have to be open to their differences as they deal with an ecosystem where the rules of the game are to survive and thrive ‘influence and get influenced’.