Is Change the Cornerstone of Success?

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• While the formula might not turn us all into the
  next Richard Branson, the combination of
  intelligence, a bursting contacts' book,
  ambition, vision and a drop of good luck can
  definitely help put us on a pathway to success.
• But are these ingredients really enough to see
  you succeed? In today's business environment -
  with constantly shifting social, economic and
  technological priorities - one element that's
  vital, but often overlooked, is change. The
  willingness and ability to embrace it with arms
  wide open is crucial.
•  
• It might be plain stubbornness, an aversion to
  risk, blind sightedness, pressure from the board,
  or resistant employees, but many business people
  fail to overlook the need to implement changes
  which could make the difference between whether
  their company is listed on the FTSE 100 or
  struggling to survive.

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• Lateral thinking, or the ability to think outside
  of the box, is the difference between survival
  and death for a business - Keshav Murugesh
•  
• The experiences of those who are brave enough to
  adopt change show there are huge financial and
  competitive advantages to be gained.
• Invest in change
• "Innovation is the most necessary ingredient in
  today's dynamic world," according to Karan
  Chanana, CEO of Amira Nature Foods Ltd, the first
  family owned Indian company to list on the New
  York Stock Exchange, with a total revenue of
  547.3m.
•  
• "It is like air to humans, every breath of
  innovation survives and thrives," he said.

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• Founded in 1915 as a small family-run trading
  company, Amira went on to become India's first
  fully-automated rice milling factory in 1993. By
  investing in a processing plant in Gurgaon, near
  New Delhi, Chanana refocused on premium rice
  products, which have a long shelf life, and
  organic products including rice, lentils and
  beans, and spices.
•  
• Chanana concedes that business people have
  different thresholds for change but believes
  everyone must accept that at some point they'll
  have to take a risk and enact change.
•  
• He believes that in business, challenges are a
  part of everyday life. "Anyone who believes that
  business or life will be a smooth ride is living
  in a fool's paradise."

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Make or Break

• "Lateral thinking, or the ability to think
  outside of the box, is the difference between
  survival and death for a business," said Keshav
  Murugesh, CEO of WNS, a leading Indian
  outsourcing company based in Mumbai.
•  
• He is known in his company as the "the turnaround
  guy", having built a reputation for improving an
  ailing company's fortunes at Syntel before
  joining WNS four years ago. In that time, he has
  doubled the company's market cap to 1.1b and
  revived its declining fortunes.
• Murugesh believes companies stagnate because
  leaders are unable to push themselves out of
  their comfort zone and challenge the status quo.

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• "It's about the fear of failure, the requirement
  for new technology, and the cost of new
  investment," he said. "But people who can make
  these changes in a planned manner see success."
•  
• But, he said, people have to remember "There is
  no such thing as failure, only some steps between
  where you are and where you aim to be. It's about
  planning, motivating and leading people, and also
  an element of luck which every CEO needs to
  have."

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Size Matters

• "When it comes to change, size matters,"
  according to John Brash, founder and CEO of Brash
  Brands, a brand consultancy headquartered in
  Dubai whose clients include The Burj Khalifa.
•  
• "On the whole, larger organisations do take
  longer to effect change. Approval processes are
  lengthier, plus the sheer volume of people to
  communicate with will naturally take longer,"
  Brash said.
•  
• As an example he cites Dubai's Dnata, the world's
  fourth biggest combined air services provider
  which has a footprint in 73 airports in 37
  countries and has more than 20,000 employees.
  Dnata embarked on a complete rebranding exercise
  in 2011 as a result of many acquisitions which
  had led to it quadrupling in size in just six
  years.

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Brash said "The new brand strategy, vision,
mission and values needed to be communicated to
over 20,000 people.He acknowledges, however,
that some business leaders find change a painful
process "Whilst some business owners may have
the desire to innovate, the process as a whole
can seem overwhelming. If they are doing well
whilst doing the same thing some can be reluctant
to rock the boat. It's myopia of the market they
are in."
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Social and Digital Change

• Going forward, Brash believes that businesses
  must adapt to new forms of modern disruption such
  as social media, cloud computing, 3-D printing,
  technology and popular new business models that
  involve mobile apps such as Uber, the taxi
  service.
•  
• In the future, he said, the chief marketing
  officer will become an important decision-maker,
  on par with the CEO of a company because of the
  implications to a business of digital innovation
  and the impact of social media. "I want to
  understand how Generation Y thinks and acts," he
  said, "because they are the customers of the
  future."

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• One way WNS keeps innovation at the forefront of
  their business strategy is by leading an ideas
  division called Wincubate, where employees are
  encouraged to contribute new thinking. The team
  with the most promising concept wins 250,000
  (excluding people costs) to launch their
  programme. After 18 months the decision is made
  on whether to create a new division to develop
  that idea as a business proposition, in which
  case the team members receive a 26 stake in the
  new company.
• Brash said "Without consistent lateral thinking
  any business will start to slow down over time.
  Younger, hungrier talent will come to the market
  and erode your share through their innovative
  methods.

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• "Many companies can get caught up watching their
  competition, rather than keeping pace with their
  consumers, especially the constantly evolving Gen
  Y.
• After all, as Stephen Hawking said, "intelligence
  is the ability to adapt to change".

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