Value add

India has been witness to organizational transformations and business model innovations. Pepsi, the beverages major says that it will tailor the company’ global model to suit Indian markets. IBM, has been stressing its unique approach to India by ‘lowering its center of gravity.’ As companies rev up to emerge successfully on the other side of the down-turn, many seem to be changing their business models while trying to be as close as possible to where the action takes place – the market. More and more of these organizations are scampering towards reviewing their own values and culture while simultaneously attempting to adapt to the dynamic local markets, India for instance. It is obvious that only those organizations that are nimble and flexible will thrive as they experience unusual and challenging market scenarios. How can a successful company operating in a mature market in the US replicate the same operating model in a remote village in India? The answer to this lies in the success of shampoo sachets introduced in villages across India by a small firm in Chennai, India. The company, through this initiative changed the existing landscape for shampoos.

How did CavinKare disrupt the market with shampoo sachets? Simple, it understood the market better than the gorillas of the industry. Its employees gave an insight that transformed the company’s fortune. As organizations transform their business model, it is imperative for the employees to change their working model as well. What are the necessary competencies required for the future? Well, the obvious answer would be deep domain expertise that ensure the power to leverage insight as well as foresight. Take the example of IBM. The company leveraged its global ‘Steel expertise’ to develop a template that can be put to use in markets when the demand picks up. It had the foresight that Indian steel manufacturers would adopt the template two years before they actually did. However, it’s common knowledge that there is a dearth for such specialists. Even if they’re available, it’s at a premium.

Such specialists come with unmatched and unbridled passion that organizations find it tough aligning them to their culture. What is the solution? One way to overcome this would be to let employees work part-time – allow them to undertake whatever they are passionate about for the rest of the time. Organizations can align their business goals with employee’s personal goals and derive utmost benefit. There should of course be some alignment of objectives. For instance, a journalist who would like to focus on the NGO’s can possibly pass on intelligence in leveraging the NGO’s for building a targeted information network.

A finance executive who passionately believed in contributing to the society relinquished her plum job to focus on mobilizing funds for a school for the under privileged. Her firm later allowed her to follow her dream but engaged her with the company on a part-time basis. While she could network with the firm’s clients for funds towards the under-privileged, the firm benefitted from her expertise and also the NGO’s client base. As organizations re-visit their values and culture, employees should do the same. It’s time to follow the heart. The finance executive re-joined the firm because she knew the association would be mutually beneficial and that her expertise in the firm could uplift a part of the society.

As Rosabeth Moss Kanter writes, People search more broadly, see more opportunities, and generate more ideas if they are encouraged to think about the world and not just about their function. If they look closely at society, not just as a market abstraction but as a collection of fellow humans with needs worthy of attention, they see that there is always room for improvement. "Better" is always a moving target. When people feel their ideas will contribute to serving society, beyond the quest for revenues and profits, there is an additional motivational boost to focus on new solutions, not just pushing more of what they already know. They care about solving the problem because it is connected with their values, and they are willing to keep working until the problem is solved, not just until they have a product to throw over the transom.