Startups
will become the norm. The pace of innovation has become so fast that
all companies will have to become agile and emulate startups.
Eventually, all companies will become startups, according to an expert
panel of industry leaders.
Here are my
eight takeaways from the panel convened during the launch of the book
From Startups to Global Success,by Ganesh Natarajan, CEO, and Pramila
Kalve, Head, Global Talent Acquisition Group, Zensar. The panel included
Ravi Gururaj, serial entrepreneur and Founder of Frictionless Ventures;
R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM; Sharad Sharma, Co-founder,
iSPIRT; and Prof. S. Raghunath, IIM Bangalore.
Startups: the new normal
As
the pace of innovation goes through the roof, large companies will have
to re-mould themselves as startups. Global software leaders such as
Intuit are already re-casting themselves as lean startups powered by
design thinking (see my writeup on Design for Delight), and Indian IT
pioneers such as Infosys are also flattening and re-structuring to think
and act like startups.
While this may
be a tough transformation, there are other options also available, such
as alliances, investments, accelerators or outright acquisition. For
example, Zensar acquired the e-commerce solutions firm Professional
Access, and Infosys invested in Waterline Data Science (see my framework
of 15 innovation tips: how large corporations can successfully engage
with startups).
The tech edge
We
are living in an era where technologies are the key building blocks of
innovation, and these building blocks are available more easily than
ever before. This is helping tech-empowered outsiders to disrupt the
transportation and health industries in ways that incumbents could not
see or respond to, as shown by companies like Uber. Technology has
created exponential change in sectors like telecommunications, though
other sectors may have a more linear traditional growth trajectory.
Technology
will play a disruptive role as disintermediator, which will be
particularly acute in countries like India where intermediaries have
played a major controlling and even stifling role. Jobs and roles which
can be automated will be disrupted as well. Artificial minds and
connected minds will transform the nature of work, thanks to artificial
intelligence and IoT which will transform the way services are monitored
and delivered (see my review of the book Code Halos). We may even see
an era where assembly-line robots go on strike because their work has
been taken over by 3D printers!
Bimodal mindset
Companies
will need to effectively balance two mindsets creative entrepreneur and
productive performer. Faster and cheaper will have to co-exist with
take risks and fail fast; define a new process will have to be balanced
with refine that process. Maintaining such a dual culture in a much more
rapid cycle of execution will be a challenge for leaders. (Author Jatin
Desai compared innovation to the front wheel and handle bar of a
bicycle, and performance to the rear wheel; see my review of his book
Innovation Engine).
Even the most
innovative companies have to master regular routine activities such as
supply chain management. Even the mighty Apple does not design and roll
out new phones every single month. Relentless innovation has to be
balanced with process efficiency and employee productivity; next
practices and best practices must co-exist and follow each other.
Transformation of the Indian IT sector
The
Golden Era of the Indian IT services sector is over but the sector is
far from finished. One S-curve of a market cycle has run its course and a
new S-curve is beginning, powered by digital ecosystems like SMAC and
digital innovation via startups. The transition period between such
S-curves is difficult but not insurmountable.
While
the Indian IT and BPO services sectors have been written off by experts
a number of times, these companies are resilient and reinventing
themselves for the digital age, eg. via external and internal social
media, more open communication styles and creative cultures.
Gen Net, Gen Next
The
current generation of youth in India does not seem to be constrained
like previous generations in terms of accepting and obeying hierarchies
or herds of the past. They are willing to work on goals and challenges,
and not just for money.
They are
plugged in, learn fast, and bounce back, and will choose a career track
which gives them learning, has positive impacts, provides mentors, and
opens up networks. Established professionals too need to adopt such
attitudes, and plan for three-year phases rather than 30-year tracks. A
malleable mindset is the key, with a willingness to pivot.
Leadership and vision
Leaders
will increasingly need to sharpen their ability to see round the
corner; they need to be more collaborative and less insular. They need
to design new pathways of information flow, decision making and
collaboration in the company, eg. consensus based on an e-Bay kind of
open marketplace for projects, managers and employees.
Zensar
has dispensed with the traditional bell-curve for talent assessment; it
even got rid of the tie as dress code, to allow for more informal and
non-hierarchical social networks. It has built its success through
vision communities and love culture.
A
culture of experimentation should be promoted, particularly since the
cost of experimentation for small teams of innovators has dramatically
dropped. This may lead to a blend of product and service offerings in
the same company.
Valuation: collapse or correction?
Casino
investors and media hype are creating a distorted perception of
entrepreneurship. Comparisons between India and China, which pitch India
as the next China, are flawed for a number of reasons, such as the fact
that many foreign players are not allowed to operate in China.
There
may be a correction as some unicorns collapse or combine, but the tough
times will be good for true entrepreneurs who have the sense of
discipline and perspective; these are the ones who do not just see
startups as cool. In that sense, VCs should be seen as catalysts and not
major drivers of the startup ecosystem in India.
Government roles
While
much attention in India has focused on digital startups, the government
and industry need to target neglected areas like agriculture and
energy, and collaborate to chart the unfathomable waters ahead. The risk
of the digital divide getting amplified should be tackled so as to
create a more level playing field.
Launching
Make in India and Startup India are good beginnings, but the real
action is in all the details. The Indian government plays a key role in
creating a better ecosystem for startups, from policy to infrastructure.
While even the sky is not the limit for startups, the roads seem to be
the limit today in most cities!
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the information provided is quite effective
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