Articles

September 12, 2011

Boardroom Mantras for Aspiring CEOs

Published on 12th September 2011, BUSINESS STANDARD

I have worked for twenty four years on company boards in many roles: as an executive and as a non-executive director, in India and overseas, as independent and non-independent director, and in international as well as in Indian companies.
February 7, 2011

Speaking up is Costly, but so also is not Speaking up

Published on 7th February 2011, ECONOMIC TIMES

In public and corporate life, there are huge costs of not speaking up or of not listening to those who speak up: the Sathyam scam and the BP oil spill disaster are both telling examples.
December 6, 2010

INNOVATION NEEDS MORE BITZUA AND CHUTZPAH

6th December 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

Bitzua, chutzpah, rosh gadol and other Hebrew expressions come alive in an eminently readable and inspiring book called Start-Up Nation:
November 1, 2010

COMPANY MUST ADD VALUE TO SUBSIDIARIES THROUGH EXPLICIT ‘PARENTING’

1st November 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

The word ‘parenting’ conjures visions of nurturing and inspiring; it does not connote involvement with and intrusion into any and everything that the child does.
October 4, 2010

How global companies can better ride the India wave

4th October 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

“Think with a blank sheet of paper. Treat India as a multi-dimensional resource and not merely as a consuming market for your readily available technologies and products.”
September 6, 2010

Chemical industry needs more ‘explorers’

6th September 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

(Tell people that you work for a company in automotive, electronics or computing and they understand. Tell someone, “I work for a company that produces nitro-cellulose, surfactants and starch-based polymers”, and watch the clueless look.
August 2, 2010

SOLVING PROBLEMS INDIRECTLY: the example of education

2nd August 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

(The consumer demand for quality education is huge. The Indian education market is gargantuan at $ 80 billion per year, about the size of the Indian steel and automobile industries put together. It is highly regulated and under-governed.)
July 5, 2010

THE HUMANE RELATIONS BUSINESS: India’s unique position

5th July 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

Following a recent strike at an air carrier, a company executive is reported to have said, “Half our company’s problems are because there are no clear directions from HR.”
June 7, 2010

WHY INDIAN MANAGERS SUCCEED OVERSEAS

7th June 2010, ECONOMIC TIMES

While reflecting about the column on careers and business life, I asked myself what purpose could be served by such an effort.