Empowering Peacocks, Not Penguins

AS INDIA INC. EMBRACES A WORLD FULL OF UNCERTAINTIES, NOT ONLY DOES IT NEED OUT-OF-THE-BOX BUSINESS STRATEGIES, ITS EMPLOYEE STRATEGY NEEDS TO FOLLOW SUIT.

- Ajita Shashidhar

THE FIRST QUARTER of FY21 was perhaps the worst ever for lifestyle major Titan Company. The pandemic had spread its wings far and wide and the country was under a complete lockdown. As people got confined within their homes and even lost their loved ones to the deadly virus, the last thing on the mind was to buy a piece of jewellery or indulge in a watch. The sudden change in consumer mindset was disastrous for the lifestyle major, as sales plummeted. Back at the Titan headquarters in Bengaluru, the easiest option to tide over the crisis was to cut down on employees or sever ties with a few vendor partners and distributors. C.K. Venkataraman, MD, Titan Company, decided instead to empower his stakeholders. “I could have shaved off ₹50 crore in FY21 by cutting down on employees and vendors, but I knew ₹50 crore is a small part of the total pie. I thought empowering and motivating 20,000-odd employees, vendors and distributors to steer out of the crisis would make better sense. And it worked. They gave back to the company with their commitment and innovations,” says Venkataraman.

Tackling Uncertainties: Need Of The Hour

Distributed Leadership — The top boss needs to empower teams to take decisions.

Employees need to be encouraged to take bold bets by their managers.

Three-four year strategies are passé, one needs to adapt to changes by the hour.

Need to encourage a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and authenticity.

Need to create a culture where people are encouraged to learn from failures.

Have a workforce which mirrors consumers.