To get Sustained Results, Chase the Process
– V.Kovaichelvan, Director-TVS Institute for Quality and Leadership
The World we live in is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous; to deal with it, we need clear vision, understanding of the situation, lucid thoughts and agility. Only with these we can respond to uncertainty.
The above words were shared by V.Kovaichelvan, Director-TVS Institute for Quality and Leadership. He said this at the National Management Day Celebrations & CMA Awards Ceremony 2022 hosted by the Coimbatore Management Association (CMA) on Thursday.
True to what he said, every field is witnessing a drastic change thanks to the pandemic. While the world, specifically the industry is recovering, his talk on the topic “Thriving on Uncertainty: Managing radical change” had many valuable messages to every stakeholder of the industry, be it small, large, micro, medium, start-up etc. His speech, though filled with technical terms, provided thoughts that should be given greater consideration.
On the occasion he presented the CMA Awards to 7 industrious personalities in the presence of Jayakumar Ramdass, President, Nithyanandan Devaraj, Secretary, CMA along with the event Convener Prof.R.Nandagopal.
Harness the Energy of Change!
– Jayakumar Ramdass
“Uncertainty is all around us, never more than today. Whether it concerns a global pandemic, the economy, finances, health, relationship, much of what lies ahead in life remains uncertain,” Jayakumar Ramdass underlined.
“Yet, as human beings we crave security. We want to feel safe and have a sense of control over our life and well-being.”
“When faced with an unexpected change, we have a choice; fight to regain what was or harness the energy of change to build what can be, one step at a time.”
“Thriving in uncertainty will shift the organization’s mind set from surviving to thriving by greater acceptance of change as the new normal.”
“Organizations should have the ability to shift and respond to the changes in the business environment with corresponding action that is focused, quick and agile.”
Do Nothing, Accomplish Everything!
– V.Kovaichelvan
Kovaichelvan shared that he visits Toyota’s Bengaluru Plant occasionally, and he would be amazed to note that the smaller level workers there always achieve more than 90 marks for their efficiency. He shared that they manage on their own, and they do not require a manager or a supervisor to direct/command them.
He said Management in an organization has to be like this, where a team should naturally adhere to an efficient management system, and work towards excellence. When he said ‘Do Nothing, Accomplish Everything’ he meant this. But is this possible for all companies, organizations and establishments?
He expressed that it is possible for all companies to attain excellence, even during uncertain periods but for that the organizations should deploy excellent business practices, and every section of staff and employees should contribute.
Quality & Process
Kovaichelvan shared that many Indian companies including TVS have adopted techniques like TQM – Total Quality Management for Business Excellence.
Putting TQM in a nutshell, he said companies and their staff should function as one organic entity and keep their focus on the customers’ satisfaction and always put Quality on top of everything they do. Simply put, it is ‘Customer Focus and Quality First’.
Speaking further, he said that any team that works towards a goal, (for instance ‘Outcomes with Quality’), should first develop a Plan, and see whether if they do by that method, they can harvest good outcomes.
If the approach they used provides good results, it should be retained, and taken forward to others, if not they should formulate a new plan and continue to improve till they achieve the right method.
He stressed that greater focus should be given to the process/method by which a work is done. “If you want to get sustained results, chase the process,” he said.
He advised that space should not be given for the old mistakes to recur but when new errors arrive, that should be dealt with. He wanted the staff to sense a problem, identify where it is, what caused it and devise a solution.
Talents and Breakthroughs
“If you want to really thrive in uncertainty what you need is a breakthrough,” he opined. For the company to attain a Breakthrough, every level of employee should provide certain results, he said.
The staff at the lower level must be consistent with their work and outcomes, whereas the ones in the middle should try to improve their outcomes; only when these two levels of employees do these, the staff at the top level can focus on breakthroughs.
This brings us to the next important section… Talents. For innovation and continuous improvement, we need talent management, Kovaichelvan opined.
We need to have both Talents and Technologies to solve complex problems and achieve quality outcomes. Temporary or permanent, all staff need to be skilled, he shared.
He compared two methods that employers follow when they deploy their workforce to a task; they either follow ‘Do and Learn’ or ‘Learn and Do’. When a poorly skilled staff is asked to do a task and learn from it, it creates problems. So if organizations upskill and fine tune their staff, and then deploy them to do a task, the results can be expected to be optimum.
He also wanted the people to take a look at how technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics are evolving and becoming interdisciplinary, and underlined that it is time for the staff in organizations to become transdisciplinary.
He acknowledged that companies becoming future-ready with all these attributes in an uncertain period, like today would be a herculean task, but he encouraged Coimbatore Management Association and others like them to mobilize academia and management practitioners to come together, co-create high impact modular courses which can eventually prepare industries for uncertainty and radical change.
Be Dharmic, Keep Customers Happy
– M.Krishnan, MD, Sri Krishna Sweets
CMA Roots Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 Awardee
Accepting the award, M.Krishnan was asked about the things that guided him in his journey as an entrepreneur.
He said that when a person starts and runs a business, he should keep his trade between the shores of Righteousness and Customers’ Satisfaction & Happiness. He opined that if business runs within these two shores, it will garner the public’s love and response, in a natural way.
He recollected the words of Swami Dayanada Saraswathi “Be a Contributor, not just a consumer”, and shared that it is only right to give back to the society, and in the Dharmic path, he undertakes programs by joining hands with society that benefits the public.
God guides us in the right direction
– Sanjay Kondaas, Owner, Kondaas Automation
CMA Mahendra Pumps Best SME Entrepreneur Awardee
Sanjay shared that in 2010 he wanted to take dealership of Tata in Covai while at the same period Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency was looking for people who can provide Solar support under CM’s Solar Rooftop Capital Incentive Scheme in the State to 10000 homes.
He decided to go with TEDA’s scheme and took a leap of faith. Between 2012 – 2015, of the 7000 homes, Kondaas took 3,500 homes under their wings. But when the scales increased when they set foot in Kerala, he once again took a leap of faith, and according to him God had guided him in the right direction. Now Kondaas is looking to become the 4th largest player in solar sector in India.
Emotions have helped me in my journey
– Megha Asher, Co-Founder, Juicy Chemistry
CMA GRG Women Entrepreneur Awardee
Megha was asked about the quality that helped her in her entrepreneurial journey, and she shared that it was her emotions. She said that she had often told her husband Pritesh that she can be a good entrepreneur but not a good business owner. She explained that she felt so because, being a woman, one tends to put more emotions in business. “Sometimes it may not be the best decision but it makes you stand out. As women we are gifted with the ability to look at things not only practically all the time, but look at the other side of it”. She said that this quality has always been helpful in her journey.
Passion & Purpose
– Sreepriya, Astrix Engineers
CMA Quadra Best Startup Awardee
Accepting the Best Startup Award, Sreepriya shared “our intentions while starting this business (smart door locks) was not just our passion, it was also to build a purpose to that”. She said that one constant fear people tend to have is safeguarding their beloved and belongings at their respective houses.
To address this problem, Astrix Engineering developed indigenously made smart solutions in the form of Smart Door Locks. She said that her company is a small speck in the world of smart techs, and they wish to make it grow big with the support of everyone.
Authenticity & Unbiasedness keep us moving
– D.Rajkumar, GM- Circulation, Hindu Tamil Thisai
CMA DJ Best Professional Corporate Leader Awardee
When D.Rajkumar was asked about the challenges faced in launching Hindu Tamil Thisai (HTT), he said that the team understood that every field has its own competitions, and the media is also becoming competitive.
Hence they had strategies formed in and out. He shared that they did not aim to be No.1 but be swift in the field. He credited that coming from the house of The Hindu, the brand and the legacy that comes with it gave them great propulsion to move ahead. He said that Authenticity and Unbiasedness are the qualities that keep HTT moving, and he added that the launch of HTT solved a wish/problem that was prevailing among many newspaper readers; they wanted The Hindu’s news in Tamil, and that has been resolved with the launch of HTT.
Create managers to solve real-time problems
– Prof. Deepa Venugopal, DJ AME
CMA GRD Best Management Faculty Awardee
In her acceptance speech, Prof. Deepa Venugopal said that modern management schools should be trying to create wisdom rather than knowledge.
As organizations hire Managers to solve problems, she emphasized that management schools should be working to make their students Problem solvers. She pointed out that the speed at which problems pop-up in business is quick, and how a manager faces problems, differentiates him/her.
Research could open many frontiers
– Prof. Deepa Ranganathan, PSG IM
CMA STC Best Management Researcher Awardee
When Prof. Deepa was asked whether enough focus is given for management research in Academia and Industry, she replied “of course enough impetus is given for research. Based on my experience, I would vouch that Research could open many frontiers to you”
She shared that her research work has taken her to other organizations and PSUs like Indian Oil Corporation that need her consultancy, so she replied positively that enough impetus is given for Management Research in the industry.