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`Only the best survive'

Corporate honcho Adi Godrej and management expert Bala V. Balachandran get down to the fundas of their functioning

THINKING GLOBAL Adi Godrej and Bala V. Balachandran welcome competition as it helps them hone their skills and do better PHOTO: R. RAGU

From the usual two hours to 20 minutes flat, this Take Two was special. Because like Bala V. Balachandran's one-year management programme, this one too was business-like. No frills, no tangential thought processes and no pauses. But it packed a punch, what with the distinguished professor of J.L. Kellogg School of Management and founder of the Chennai-based Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM) and Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group, conversing with depth and spontaneity.

T. KRITHIKA REDDY transcribes the tête-à-tête...

Bala: Adi, what is it that struck you about GLIM?

Adi: Bala, the passion of the people who set up the institution is tremendous. The students exude the same passion as well. Second, the camaraderie between the faculty and the students. What were the challenges you faced in setting up this institution?

Bala: My experiences in establishing the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, helped. I hail from Chennai. Chennai did not figure on the management schools map. My idea was to provide world-class education that is affordable. GLIM is a not-for-profit organisation. When money becomes a priority, questions about ethics, integrity and compromises arise. Adi, we have produced good engineers and we have such good products, but we can't sell ourselves like they do in the West. So should we focus on marketing and sales?

Adi: No, I think a business school must be more general. It shouldn't look like a school for marketing and sales.

Bala: It's generic. But now, everybody is talking in terms of customer-centricity.

Adi: Quite right. If India has a weak area in terms of management, it's marketing. We are strong in financial management, manufacturing management, etc. But marketing is the bane of the economy.

Bala: It's no longer a captive market, it's an open one, you see.

Adi: Do you see the opening of more such institutions in the country?

Bala: I'm positive. But only the best will survive. Godrej was one of the pioneers here in hair colour. Now, we have a whole lot of foreign brands. What are the challenges you've faced?

Adi: Our share of the market remains the same despite the entry of L'Oreal, Wella, etc. We provide value for money. Most Indians can't afford high-priced European or American brands. We welcome competition, it helps us hone our skills and do better. We hope to maintain or increase our share of the market.

Bala: Like many foreign brands coming here, Godrej too is making forays into the world.

Adi: We like to expand globally. In fact, it's my opinion that in another three to five years, Indian foreign direct investments will exceed all foreign direct investments in India.

Bala: People respect the quality India offers. In the beginning when India opened up, there was so much pressure. But corporate India took the challenges head on.

Adi: I think India should open up fully. Competition not only helps us perform better, it will also help Indian consumers get a better range of products. Competition should not hurt anybody. Only those who don't deserve to survive will falter.

Bala: Adi, like Godrej, there are a few corporate groups that are into philanthropy and supporting quality education in a big way. What are your philanthropic initiatives?

Adi: Education and health are the focus of other philanthropic groups. So right now, our primary concern is environment. Education is our second concern. We feel if Indian business can learn to ensure sustainable development that helps the environment, and not hurt it, we can facilitate faster growth. This is more satisfying. I see a great opportunity for us to have environment-positive development. I'm very much in favour of rapid development. But while we develop, if we pay attention to environmental concerns, we can grow faster. Because then, environmental pressure on development will not be there. And that's why we have the CII-Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad — to educate the Indian industry on environment-friendly development. We also support the World Wildlife Foundation in New Delhi. Right in the heart of Mumbai, in our industrial estate, we have a 300-acre mangrove where we nurture wildlife, flora and fauna.

Bala: Yes, a sense of what's right and what's wrong must be taught at an impressionable age itself. Adi, you still get training for 30 days a year?

Adi: Yes, learning is a continuous process. I continue to attend workshops, lectures, etc. conducted by eminent people for at least 30 days in a year...

While we guide youngsters, we should also pick up something from them.

Bala: Another important thing is to reward talent. It's not enough if we recruit good talent, it's important to reward talent as well. When we groom someone for five years and somebody else comes and poaches, it becomes difficult, isn't it?

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