Master the Art of Change

(Published in Banking Services Chronicle March 2000)

On the eve of Y2K, a significant change took place in the Indian stock market. The software industry ultimately established its supremacy. Wipro, which started out as a vegetable oil and soap maker, is now a confirmed information technology (IT) giant. On Dec 23, it overtook Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant that was the erstwhile boss of the show, in terms of market capitalisation.

The message is clear: If you wish to succeed in today’s world, you have to change by the minute. Gold is there in abundance. But the human urge for more and more makes it limited. So, in effect, you get things on a first-come-first-served basis. The client who hits the keyboard first is the most likely to be propitiated by the server. Thus the need is that we be on a constant vigil.

Time was when you finished your studies, joined an organisation, followed an honest nine-to-five schedule, and gradually worked your way up the ladder to some day reach the top – if at all you did – on the verge of retirement. So that you could enjoy the only apple atop the tree after two decades of studies followed by three decades of office. Moving from one organisation to another would be considered a shameful breach of loyalty. But today we talk in terms of opportunities. We are in an age when people switch not only organisations but also careers. A banker today may become a sports analyst tomorrow if he realises that he is more inclined towards the latter.

Even patriotism does not occupy the emotional pedestal it once did. Remember the times when our national leaders gave up their studies, professions, families and even lives for the sake of the country’s freedom? Today, we may debate at great lengths that the nation is going to the dogs. But how many of us are ready to bell the dogs? Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia appropriately says, “ You just can’t have raw patriotism. You are getting investors to invest in your company, so you’ve got to show them good potential and return on investment.”

Leaders are good managers. And management itself is undergoing a change in its style of functioning. Gone are the days when you would give orders from your throne and expect to be blindly obeyed. The new code says that rather than telling people what to do, become a facilitator. This is something that Pramod Mahajan spelt out in the context of the govt’s role with regard to the IT industry – “from red tape to red carpet.”

In fact, leading from the front is not always the right approach. And it is interesting to note that Jesus Christ knew this fact two millennia ago. This has been brought out in a management book, Leading Change, written by James O’Toole. The book begins with a description of the cover-page photograph, which is a reproduction of the 19th-century painting by Enson depicting Christ’s entry into Brussels. Christ the leader is not in the forefront but somewhere in the middle, among the followers. No wonder Christianity went on to become the most widely embraced religion in the world.

This example has another significance. Though we should ever be ready for change, we should be cautious while adopting changes. Just because something is new does not make it ipso facto desirable. Pop music or literature does not always have the answer. We are more likely to get better answers with classical music or literature – the Bible for example. In fact, classics are called so only because they have stood the test of time and therefore stand a better chance of true portrayal of human nature.

Knowing what to keep and what to change is a difficult balancing act. Sustainable success comes to the person who has mastered this art.