In the opening chapter, Subir
Chowdhury, who has put it all together, argues that: "To lead in
the present and the future, organisations must emphasise two things:
talent an environment. An organisation must employ and retain the
best, brightest, and most diversified people in order to
innovate." These words (the italics are mine) would not have
appeared in a more classical book. Organisations pay lip service to
diversity, but put in place steps to create clones out of young
recruits. Having run Unilever Arabia, which employed people of 16
different nationalities, I realise the challenges of diversity and,
equally, the rewards that come if one can leverage that diversity. For
the future global organisation, diversity is not an academic issue –
it is a reality.
The two chapters on ‘Global
Leadership’ and ‘Developing Global Leaders’ are insightful and
written with a lot of sensitivity. The authors are all European and
one wonders whether there is a freshness on this score, compared to
the usual American literature on such subjects. For example, seven
qualities are listed as essential for global leaders over and above
those found in excellent domestic and multinational leaders. These
qualities are focused on geocentricity and multi-cultural sensitivity,
both of which are more associated with Europeans rather than Americans
"a firm with a global mindset accepts diversity and heterogeneity
as a source of opportunity," they argue correctly.
The ‘Boardroom of the
Future’ points out that with the average size of boards decreasing
and the demands and rewards for serving on boards increasing,
companies need greater contributions from their own directors. This is
best achieved by voluntary self-appraisal and continuous improvement
programmes administered by the boards to their own directors.
Otherwise, I fear, obligatory and legal initiatives will be forced on
the boards. The cost of additional corporate governance reporting has
been estimated by some US companies and appears to be quite large; in
India, I reckon it could be Rs.300 crore per year! The authors propose
seven characteristics that create truly independent boards. They also
point out the five outcomes that good boards should aim for in order
to deliver what stakeholders truly expect of them – real leadership!
Michael Beer’s piece on ‘Building
Organisational fitness’ is apposite, particularly in the Indian
social structure. He focuses on the silent killer, that is, the
inability of organisations to confront real issues, and of leaders
engaging teams in a constructive discussion that could resolve
differences. You are bound to recognise your company in every line,
and as you finish reading the essay, you’ll be left with the
question: can I do something about it? At least think about it, and,
if possible, act on your thoughts.
There are also some hugely
interesting quotations about experience and talent. For example,
Sumner Redstone of Viacom is quoted as saying: "The question is
not whether you are subjected to adversity and conflict during your
life. The question is how you deal with it. If you really want to
succeed, you have to be passionate and have a commitment to
excellence."
W Edward Deming, ignored in
the US and deified in Japan, identified incredible persistence as a
key characteristic of talent, an attribute not focused upon very
often.
Sp what is the
one huge positive and one huge negative of this
book? The positive is an outstanding collection
of well-knit and well-edited essays on a subject
of great relevance in the future. The negative
is that not all managers would find this an easy
read; the subject is soft and woolly, free flowing,
although not sticky. It is interesting if you
first read it in doses, and rewarding if you refer
to it occasionally thereafter. This is a must
for your bookshelf.
