The Smart Manager Magazine - March/April 2017

In this issue

Cover story: Stability at stake? ...

ANTI-GLOBALIZATION AND PROTECTIONISM - THE NEW WORLD ORDER?...

NINA LEKHI - on Baggit’s customerservice practices.

DR JAGDISH SHETH - on embracing sustainability.

Complexity Is Simpler Than You Think

Kay Kendall and Glenn Bodinson, authors of Leading the Malcolm  Baldrige Way, shatter myths about excellence models such as Baldrige and EFQM.

6 mins

Where Style Meets Sustainability

The world of fashion is no stranger to radical concepts. One such is for a brand is to market itself as ‘vegan’ and Baggit has found success with this. Founder Nina Lekhi—recognized as one of the most powerful women in Indian business— speaks about how the brand has grown since it was established 26 years ago, its customer service philosophy, and the role of innovation in its growth.

5 mins

Sustainability Is A Marketing Problem

In their recent book, The Sustainability Edge, Suhas Apte and Dr Jagdish Sheth equate the sustainability journey to the game of golf—they say the intent is not to get the best score but rather pursue continuous improvement. They believe companies should embrace sustainability as it is the only way to build long-term competitive advantage. And for this, companies need to effectively engage with all key stakeholders and influence them too. In this exclusive to The Smart Manager, Dr Sheth, talks about why consumers form the biggest piece in this puzzle and why they will play a major role in how this discourse unfolds. Edited excerpts:

10+ mins

Facing Up To The New Reality

Anti-globalization sentiments have started occupying center stage in the political narrative, of late—signaling a pronounced focus on localization and rejection of seamless trade flows. The Brexit vote and the Trump presidency seem to have added further punch to this counter trend, sparking concern the world over. But will isolationism ever work in an increasingly connected world?

5 mins

Proponents of Isolation Never Become Victors

Multilateralism in the political and economic space has always led to frameworks that favor the mighty. WTO was no exception. With agriculture kept out of its purview, it could never become a truly fair and free trading system. China was the only large emerging economy that exploited relative openness in low-cost manufactured goods to take full advantage of the system. Other emerging economies could at best garner minor gains.

1 min

Two Sides Of The Same Coin?

Reacting to the Brexit vote, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne recently said, “Let’s make sure that we go on doing trade with our biggest export market, otherwise withdrawing from the single market would be the biggest single act of protectionism in the history of United Kingdom and no amount of trade deals with New Zealand are going to replace the amount of trade we do with our European neighbours”.*True, our economies are too intertwined to stay aloof for long. Globalization and protectionism come in cyclic patterns—it is within you to leverage the opportunities.

8 mins

A History Lesson (From Year One) for Trump and the Brexit Crowd: Isolationism Has Never Worked!

Professor Stephane Garelli on growing isolationism.

3 mins

Powerhouse Performance

Creating high-performance leadership is just one step towards achieving success; how companies can sustain it is what ultimately decides the fate of the organization. After studying some of the leading businesses across the globe, James Bowen and Brian MacNeiceis, offer you a model that can help future leaders.

5 mins

The 'Z' Factor

Today’s organizations are already in the process of onboarding Gen Z who are going to make up about 20% of the workforce by 2020. For the first time, three distinct generations working simultaneously. What does this signify for employers?

6 mins

A Win-Win Game

Business is not a sport where some stakeholder has to lose or fare badly for others to do well. Building an atmosphere of trust and transparency between all stakeholders will help companies retain them even during adverse times.

7 mins

A Sustainable Model

With a total market value of $4.3 trillion and an employment base of at least 1.3 million direct employees and millions of others indirectly employed, platforms have become an important economic force.*Companies today are constantly looking for ways to build platforms—Infosys Ltd announced its plans of monetizing its platforms to make them a $2 billion business by March 2021. But are all platform businesses successful?

9 mins

Custom Made

…three in four consumers said they receive too many emails from brands, and one-fifth said they could not handle the current volume…69 per cent have ‘unfollowed’ brands on social media, closed their accounts or cancelled subscriptions.*In these times, when the market is flooded with products and services, the most efficent way to engage customers is to offer them customized content. To achieve this, brands need to focus on observing the nuances of individual preferences.

5 mins

The Right Synergy

Arriving at a mutually acceptable and constructive decision while working in groups can be a challenging task. It is therefore important that organizations pay attention to nurturing strong team values that impact decision-making.

4 mins

Making of a Leader

A study, conducted by Dr Jack Zenger and Dr Joe Folkman, concluded “…poor leaders lost money; good leaders made profit; and extraordinary leaders more than doubled the company’s profits in comparison to the other 90%.” 1Effective leadership can bring about significant progress for both employees and the company. But the question is how does a leader trace the path to become an exceptional one?

4 mins

Read all stories from The Smart Manager

The Smart Manager Magazine Description:

The Smart Manager, India's first world-class management magazine, was founded in 2002 by eminent business historian Dr Gita Piramal with Harvard Business School Dean, Prof. Nitin Nohria with the mission of updating managers and business practitioners in India with the latest thought-provoking strategic ideas from experienced, world-class managers, academics and consultants from across the globe. Over the years, the magazine has carried articles authored by illustrious management gurus such as the late CK Prahalad and Sumantra Ghoshal, Jack Trout, Ram Charan, Gary Hamel, Gay Haskins, Jagdish Seth and Lynda Gratton. We believe that "managers are the best teachers of managers" and most of our articles are written in the first person by top-tier CEOs such as Kumaramangalam Birla, Sunil Mittal, Aditya Birla, KV Kamath, Santrupt Mitra, Rajeev Dubey and S Ramadorai. We also have relationships with a number of B-schools around the world, apart from most top-level schools in India.

The Smart Manager hosts the Tata Consultancy Services Smart Manager Case Contest, the most prestigious competition of its kind in the Indian print media. The contest, with a cash prize of INR50,000 per issue, sees wide participation from national and international business managers and students. 
The 'Smart" in The Smart Manager is an acronym for Strategy, Marketing, Analysis, Resources and Technology. Truly useful knowledge when you need it 24 x 365, year after year.