Innocolumn

August 2, 2019

Business ‘Institutions’ essential for India’s growth

02nd August 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

Reading recent books on business—pharma, financial services, technology firms—it appears that we love to hate business. The truth is that we just cannot do without them. So we mock them, criticize them.
July 30, 2019

Creating an innovation ecosystem

30th July 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

Although the group had showcased somany examples ofinnovations over thelastcentury, the prevailing perception internally and externally in 2005,...
June 27, 2019

India needs more business institutions, not just companies

27th June 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

My father arranged a thread ceremony for me when I was eleven years of age. I felt important as I diligently followed the elders’ instructions to follow the priest all the time.
May 30, 2019

Competitor obsession promotes autarky and hubris

30th May 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

Many Indian startups, designed on Silicon Valley principles, appear to be aiming to ‘destroy the enemy’ and to grab the prize of ‘winner takes all’. In the process, they are drowning in a dangerous ocean of swirling losses.
April 24, 2019

Building trust key to entrepreneurship

24th April 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

Business and entrepreneurship are clearly promoted by fostering and advancing trust in a society. I came across two books, both of which emphasized trust as a social and behavioral ingredient in the spread of entrepreneurship--Rainforest:
April 4, 2019

17 crore agri-preneurs crying for attention

1st April 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

The cacophony and energy around Startup India and entrepreneurship has bypassed the agri-preneur. It is time to reverse this unfortunate and cumulative neglect. In economic terms, it is a bit like setting right traditional caste discrimination in social development!
February 28, 2019

Behavior & culture essentials in Startup Land

27th february 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

The narratives of super ego and toxic behavior among CEOs of large companies are disturbing and increasingly prominent. They have a pattern. After ascent, the CEO is powerful, power damages the brain, and the CEO’s behavior changes visibly.
January 17, 2019

Old Truths, Fresh Startups

17th January 2019 BUSINESS STANDARD

Reportage and commentaries on startups attract huge interest, creating as unreal an image about startups as Bollywood and Cricket. In a Martian’s reading of our newspapers, startup founders need not bother about a path to profits, they should chase something called GMV and losses over long periods of time are alright.
December 21, 2018

Year-end cautions for restless entrepreneurs

20th December 2018 BUSINESS STANDARDD

Entrepreneurship is positive for economic development, but the process is at its infancy in India. Hence, a few symptoms of aberrant behavior among founders are natural. If they persist, they could signal an approaching problem.