The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Innovation is key to success in business: Lakshmi Narayanan

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Sunday, Jun 29, 2008
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Innovation is key to success in business: Lakshmi Narayanan

Special Correspondent

The focal point must be customer, says vice-chairman of Cognizant

— Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Accolades for achievements: (left to right): S. Gopal, president, MMA; Elizabeth Verghese, Chancellor, Hindustan University; Kewal Handa, president, All-India Management Association; and Lakshmi Narayanan, vice-chairman, Cognizant, at the annual awards function of the Madras Management Association in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: Innovation in products, processes, business models and most of all, human resources management, is vital to success in business today, according to Cognizant vice-chairman Lakshmi Narayanan.

“Innovation is going to be the key aspect of management excellence, of building scale, of going global,” he said, addressing the members of the Madras Management Association (MMA) at its annual awards function in Chennai on Friday.

The focal point of all this innovation must be the customer. “Gone are the days when we could set and meet expectations of the customer. That is constantly changing and we are no longer in control. The market is in control, the customer is in control,” he said, pointing to the Tata Nano, Subhiksha’s cell phone retail business, and Blockbuster Inc for examples of innovation spurring success. Of course, innovation and change involve the willingness to take risks.

Pfizer managing director Kewal Handa, also sharing his views on managerial excellence at the function, pointed to risk-taking ability as an important characteristic of the successful entrepreneur. “Without risk, you will never grow,” he said. Good entrepreneurs must also have the ability to carry their employees with them in this process of risk-taking and growth, even during times of crisis. “The vision and passion of the entrepreneur needs to percolate down to every employee.”

The MMA honoured four companies that have displayed such characteristics with the MMA Award for Managerial Excellence. The focus of the seven-year old award is to evaluate vision and goals, financial performance, how managers are directed to various disciplines, management’s contribution to society and growth of market share. This year, the award for a company in the manufacturing sector went to TAFE Power Source, while the services sector award was presented to Pyramid Saimira Theatre. Autoprint Machinery Manufacturers won the award for the small and medium entrepreneur category, while Hindustan University won the educational institution award.

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