Opinion The operating discipline that India needs
Every moment operating discipline,thats EMOD,a factor urgently required in Indias business domain.
Every moment operating discipline,thats EMOD,a factor urgently required in Indias business domain. Its an actionable operational efficacy matrix to seamlessly interconnect the backend and front end of an enterprise to its market dynamics. This behavioural matrix comprises four human demeanours: attitude,behaviour,action and delivery. When applied in different enterprises,the matrix will not change,but employees articulation of attitude,behaviour,action and delivery will be different. The difference depends on the gaps they need to plug in to coherently run the enterprise in their competitive environment.
Indian industry has inherited the legacy of crisis management from the Licence Raj: Strategic decision making often happens at the last moment,forward planning is amiss,and being reactive in business has become a malaise. This business style started changing after WTO TRIPS in 2004 with concerted arrival of global brands. Another big step is awaited when FDI opens up for multi-brand retails. Globally successful retailers will then radically change the Indian consuming system. The major reason why Indian brands are weak is that EMOD was not managed proactively. When the business agenda becomes flexible,the value of time doesnt get recognised. Multi-cultural people from different states have different behavioural habits,and everybody tends to try out operating discipline in their own way. Thats why it becomes almost impossible to achieve alignment of discipline. Indian managements are lenient to individuals instead of making enterprise operating discipline a highly processed railguard.
In my experience of transforming several corporations in different countries,the meat is obtained only when an internal rejuvenation program is put in place. Its never enough to create beautiful communication without a core message of the corporate entity thats relevant to people internally in an outside-in perspective. That merely stays as a buzz with some ephemeral image that does not touch the real change required. Even when the image is changed,if employee behavioural aspects remain the same,the purpose of corporate change gets defeated. Only when its driven by EMOD can corporate transformation be successfully managed. As an entrepreneur if youve decided on transformation,there was fundamental logic and purpose. But if EMOD is not put in at its beginning,you will not see results. EMOD is the departure of building a corporations high worth. A launch wave that isolates the identity from the enterprises backend and front end alignment cannot achieve internal rejuvenation. The corporate identity drives business and becomes a visible manifestation that radiates different activities. Corporate transformation that drives business has satellites as drivers that impact proactive customer sensitivity. They include the enterprise value system,business objective,corporate promise and vision,corporate and business strategy,backend and front end alignment and operational efficiency to achieve a single focus,transformed corporation.
To establish and manage internal change,a central theme as a coherence factor is essential to understand customers in the competitive environment. This sets the direction on how to win customer hearts with a fil conducteur,which is a sensitive nerve that runs through and activates different cells in the organisation. A coherent central value system can be drilled into employees of different functions as their every moment operating discipline comprising their attitude,behaviour,action and delivery.
Attitude: An individuals attitude to work is important. The attitude of different people and the enterprise attitude have to meet at a point to create coherence. This resonating point should match the needs and desires of end-customers. Attitude can be built as enterprise philosophy that encompasses: (a) distinct global and local socio-cultural observation in a deeper manner to collect and extract information relevant to business,and (b) curiosity to discover societys fast moving and distinct trends that can contribute to business enhancement. How can different functions look at relevant-to-business societal trends with customer sensitivity? Filter information for different function requirements,and distribute it for cross-functional purposes.
Behaviour: Behaviour is conduct that coherently incorporates customer sensitivity across the enterprise. A structured attitude should guide the behaviour of employees to bring coherence across the enterprise.
Action: Action points become coherent once every employees attitude and behaviour are aligned to one corporate objective. The definite upshot of this coherence is that the enterprise will never face a crisis situation. Thats because the streamlined attitude and behaviour of employees can anticipate trends and the competitive scale to take requisite action. With such structured attitude and behaviour,employee actions can make products and services vibrant and efficacious.
Delivery promise: A delivery mechanism has to be promise driven because a promise is measurable. Customers always choose a brand based on its promise of delivered excellence. So deliverables must be proactively woven with a fil conducteur is the result of the attitude,behaviour,and action of employees. These four progressive employee steps can be linked as an EMOD program and be specific to the enterprise in the competitive scenario.
A brilliant student may not necessarily get far in professional life. Its not enough to score high marks. In practical business life you need action and delivery. The quality of enterprise delivery and success depend on the enterprise attitude for boundaryless learning leading to appropriate behaviour,putting that into action to make a deliverable that can enrich end-customers and increase your business. Indian enterprises give too much space for individuals to follow their own discipline. At the same time,they dont give them the opportunity to take decisions. You can only achieve the competitive edge in your enterprise if with single focus,you have managed the attitude,behaviour,action and delivery promise of employees maintained by EMOD.
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com
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