Opinion Chrysalis to butterfly

Proactive transformation: At a personal level,it was Mohammed Ali’s own initiative to realise the dream of ‘I’m the greatest!’ From his early age gestures,much before he became a leading boxer,it was clear he was pushing hard to become the greatest. In his impatience to reach the top,he’d double the number of laps his trainer instructed him to run for body tone up. His was an urge to transform into the greatest boxer on earth,and he took every initiative to fulfill that urge.

At the corporate level,look at Toyota,a loom manufacturer in 1927 transformed to occupy a place among the world’s automobile leaders. Toyota’s disposition towards galloping into transformation in sophisticated Western markets,challenging automobile pioneers like GM and Ford,is phenomenal.

On-time opportunity for transformation to happen: Classical Western opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa hurtled into fame with on-time opportunity. An orphan from New Zealand’s Mauri tribe,she was on an adoption list with social workers there. At the age of a month,she was offered for adoption to a couple who rejected her as they were looking for a boy child. After five months of not finding a male child, this couple,an Irish mother and Mauri father,took her. ‘Out of pity,my parents adopted me,’ is how Kiri describes her homecoming.

Kiri’s adopted mother,finding immense talent in her voice,opened all avenues for Kiri to excel as a soprano singer. In spite of her adopted mother being part of the white society,Kiri faced racial problems when school mates would exclude her from social parties. But Kiri’s mother made her concentrate on strict musical discipline to train her voice. She wanted to be singer like Tina Turner,but her adopted parents would settle for nothing less than classical Western. Kiri quickly shot into fame in New Zealand,and the London Opera Centre in 1965 accepted her as a student without an audition. With a strong foundation of musical grammar and an outstanding voice that is superior to any pop,jazz,funk or country music singer,Kiri became one of the world’s most celebrated opera singers.

Imagine if she were not adopted,had remained in the neglected aborigine society,who could have known her? Hers is an unimaginable journey of how the environment,love and courage from her adopted parents can transform a chrysalis into a butterfly to create a genius. At over 60 years of age today she represents excellence in precision for Rolex who in an advertisement related their most prestigious and expensive watch to Kiri’s meticulous accuracy in song and tempo. This is the most inspiring example of transforming in a conducive situation: from an abandoned orphan to dominating the sophisticated world with her highly disciplined,emotional soprano voice.

Do or die transformation: A corporate example of transformation propelled by a craving to overcome deprivation was Sony’s vision articulated in 1950. This was just after Japan was defeated in World War II: “We will create products that become pervasive around the world. We will be the first Japanese company to go into the American market and distribute directly. We will succeed with innovations like transistor radio that American companies have failed at. Fifty years from now our brand name will be as well known as any on earth. And will signify innovation and quality that rivals the most innovative companies anywhere. ‘Made in Japan’ will mean something fine,not shoddy.” And Sony achieved its vision with aspirational,world class quality products.

Deliverables from an organisation invariably reflect its culture. If culture scores at the unbeatable level,so will its products or services be unbeatable. Similarly,when deliverables are superior,good or basic,organisational culture will correspondingly reflect these qualities. The capacity for,and inclination towards,improving products or services depend on organisational culture. Henry Ford’s automobile passion and vision in 1910 was that anybody who worked in his car manufacturing plant should be able to afford the car. So he increased wages from $2.34 for a 9 hour shift to $5 per day. This enabled employees to work ingeniously for a positively surprising delivery. Check out the beauty of the vision implemented a hundred years ago. The employee who promises a perfect car to his end consumer,himself becomes a consumer. Employee satisfaction and end consumer promise guarantor becomes the same person. This is an iconic example of organisational culture. Simultaneously,Henry’s whole idea was to increase the sales volume of the car them.

Today’s competitive scenario is undoubtedly more intense than that time. You need to bring in incredible organisational culture to emotionally inspire your people,to avoid facing market dissonance. A high salary alone,without a unique culture,will not make your organisation visionary. Organisations in general are averse to a radical shift strategy. If after our research process and analysis I find transformation is needed for my clients’ betterment,it is always quite an uphill task to convince them. But I point out the benefits of the prescribed change.

Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com