Strategy lessons from an Indian wedding

Emerging Economies Series – Lessons in strategy Part 2

Over the last month, I had the unique privilege of joining my oldest son at a friend’s Indian wedding in Kolkata, India. What an experience of a lifetime on so many levels. First and foremost was the immense warmth and hospitality of our hosts who invited us into their family as if we were family. I was humbled by the smiles, the laughter, the joking, the singing and dancing, the colour, the feeling of belonging, and of course the love that was evident between their extended families. It was exciting, it was energising and so so much fun. And oh to spend time exploring the world with my adult son was priceless.

But anyone who knows anything about an Indian wedding will be aware of the many and colourful rituals that also accompany the celebration of marriage. It is a process that extends over more than four days with an assortment of cultural and religious based rituals that accompany this special rite of passage. It is this topic of rituals that is the focus of this second article (first article was on Strategy lessons from a Loation marketplace) in my emerging economy series where I use the process of reframing to seek out insights from an emerging economy context and explore if and how it can apply to my work as a strategy advisor with Guberno Consulting.

Rituals are embedded in human society

Ritual behaviour has very deep origins in humanity. They apply to all individuals and all societies. They may be as simple as our daily routine of getting a coffee or the singing of the national anthems at the commencement of significant events. Rituals are a powerful tool for providing structure, comfort, and meaning in chaotic experiences. Rituals, steeped in repetition and intention, can help to transform ordinary actions into significant events that unify communities, convey authority, and even challenge societal norms.

It is not as if weddings in my community are not steeped in rituals (hens nights, cutting of the cake, first dance etc etc), rather it is the overtness, sheer number, and vibrancy of the rituals in the Indian culture that make Indian weddings such a memorable experience. And lets be honest, with greater than 10 events over a four day period, Indian weddings are not for the faint hearted and require stamina – particularly for the bride and groom!

While many rituals have a spiritual base they also serve a social purpose

While many of the rituals have a Hindu religious foundation, as important, is their intent to support a social purpose. For example, the application of henna tattoos at the Mehndi ceremony is a process of enrolling participants in the wedding journey and creating a sense of belonging by identifying tattoos on the skin. The Bhaat ceremony is acknowledging and supporting the mother of the groom in her transition of no longer being the most important women in her son’s life and her new role as a mother-in-law. The Sangeet ceremony is an informal ice-breaker before the wedding to help the extended families of the bride and groom to come together and share laughter and fun through family based singing and dancing displays. The Baraat is highly energetic dancing in front of the groom on a horse drawn chariot to give him energy as he enters the wedding ceremony.

Through repetition some rituals can depart their intent

While in most circumstances the rituals individually and collectively appear to deliver beautifully against their intent, from my perspective, not always. My experiences at the Indian wedding got me reflecting on some of the rituals of strategy and to question whether delivery individually and collectively is matching their intents.

Real involvement in stakeholders is core

At Guberno, we play a role regularly in supporting leadership teams through structured strategic thinking, normally as part of a strategic planning ritual. Like the Indian wedding, we believe strongly that deep participation in the strategy development process by critical stakeholders required to execute the strategy is fundamental. Strategic thinking is not something that can be outsourced to others. A completed strategy is not something purchased and then presented to the Board all wrapped up like a wedding present. It is a process of deep engagement by a range of stakeholders in a series of rituals that help in the process of transitioning from a current to a desired future state. The best outcome is achieved when broader participation, other than just the leadership team is involved in the strategy rituals. Involving some of the next generation and some of the ‘elders’ can enrich the strategy rituals.

The power of a simple mental strategic framework

For some wedding rituals, there was risk that the bride and groom had become actors in a production. The point that the strategy rituals become more a production where form starts to overtake substance then the intent of the strategy rituals starts to weaken and the probability of strategy execution diminishes. The best strategies are those where a simple strategic mental framework is created and shared amongst leaders that facilitates aligned decisions around allocation of limited human and capital resources.? This is rarely what is presented in many formal outputs from the strategy ritual.

The importance of finishing with energy

With the formal wedding ceremony (Phera) commencing at 11 pm and continuing to 4 am on the fourth day of celebrations, it would not be unreasonable for fatigue and exhaustion to be valid emotions for many wedding participants – particularly the bride and groom!? A strategy ritual that leads to fatigue and exhaustion is unlikely to create a strong platform for successful execution. These emotions can come by trying to do too many things in too short a time or by extending the strategy ritual over too long a period. Guberno’s strong experience is that undertaking the strategy ritual over 3-5 months delivers the right balance of quality and energy.

Energy without stimulants

Finally, across four days of celebration there was energy, colour, passion, dancing, singing, and playing … and not a drop of alcohol. From an Australian cultural perspective this is hard to imagine. No enhancer or additive was needed to unleash a broad range of emotions of wedding participants. When there is a culture of trust, respect, backed by long term relationships, the best strategic outcomes occur when participants bring their best and complete selves into the strategic ritual without the need for any external stimulants.

Rituals are part of everyday life and equally important in business life. Strategic planning is one of the highest leverage business rituals. Rituals are created from repetition and usually are targeted to deliver against a particular intent or purpose. However, over time there is a risk that the delivery of rituals can depart from its initial intent leading to unintended emotions and a false sense of comfort from ‘completing’ the ritual. These reduce the effectiveness of strategy development and create a poor platform for strategic execution.

Andrew Rosengren

MD Guberno Consulting