Vision & Leadership

In the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, mentions about a formula “P/PC” or “P divided by PC”.

Where P is the production of our desires or the desired outcomes – the results we seek.

PC is the assets and resources that help us achieve the P.

For example in the story of golden egg laying goose. P is the golden egg and PC is the goose that lays it.

Now most people only care about the P, not the PC. As a result, we don’t do anything to maintain our upgrade the PC. We only focus on pushing the PC to deliver more P. Then one fine day we destroy the PC, resulting in no more P.

This is relevant in our business and personal life.

In our business P can be the products we produce (that gives us revenue and profits). PC is the machinery that does the production. If we focus only on producing more and more, without caring to stop to repair and maintain the machinery, then one day the machinery will break down stopping the flow of produced good completely.

On a personal level, our P can be a happy life that we have with our family or friends. And PC can be the family or friends. But if we don’t do anything to improve and up grade your relationship with your family or friends, then the P (happy family) will suffer in long run.

So never sacrifices PC for faster gratification of P. Then you will end up like the man who killed his gold laying goose to get all the gold at once.

So what is your P and how are you treating your PC? Share your comments, opinions and experiences below.

Beware of Globalisation! Get Ready to face globalisation! Be Globalised ! These were some of the many thoughts that used to occupy the minds of entrepreneurs who were directly or indirectly involved in businesses from any sector.

The ambitious wanted to be a global company, via globalisation. The less ambitious was mostly scared of it. But did you know, Globalisation is declining since 2000.

So what trend is replacing it? What it means for your business?

Globalisation is the buzz word that we have been hearing for many years. Globalisation symbolised shipment of goods across the world, outsourcing of work to cheaper countries, etc. But post 2000, things began to change.

The 2008 crisis and the Great Recession made the international trade go down. But most of us believed that once the markets got back on tracks, the international trade will flourish once again. But surprisingly, it didn’t. Today, 10 years later, as we look back, we find that shape of Globalisation has changed dramatically.

The cross boarder trading of manufactured goods has declined and instead the cross border trading of services has increased!

This means goods that are manufactured in a country is sold more inside the same country, than it being exported, this also meant lower imports. This is because, companies are no longer seeking cheaper destinations to manufacture. For example, according to Mckinsey Global Institute, only 18% is the export from a low wage country to a high wage country. The reason could be automation, which depends less on manpower cost.

Countries have started identifying larger consumer markets for their products in their own countries. This is a major shift. It also means manufacturing of goods closer to the target market, instead of shipping it from across the globe. This is because, “speed to market” is very important in several industries where trends come and go very fast.

Another major shift is that a cross border trade shift , is happening with nearby countries. Which is called as regionalisation. Regionalisation is the current big thing. That is, companies are more interested in shipping goods to nearby countries or nearby states. This makes movement of goods faster, less expensive and increase customer presence by adhering to local cultures and trends.

So what does this mean to your business? small or big? what ever industry?

It means either success or failure. Failure if you stick on the old models (especially if you are in the manufacturing or EXIM business). Failure, if you are in the service industry and you cannot capitalise on this new wave of growing global opportunity.

It also means success to your business, if you locate your manufacturing units closer to your markets, you start exploring your regional markets (can be nearby states or nearby countries), or if you move into the “service industry” to tap the global demand.

So which side of globalisation history are you? the old chapter or the new?

Stephen Covey in his “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” lists “Proactivity” as the first habit to be effective. This is because, proactive mind is the foundation for all other habits that transform someone to be effective, is based on. So is the case with business organisations.

So what does it mean, for a business to be “proactive”?

Before answering this, we need to know what “proactivity” is, and what is its opposite.

Proactiveness for an individual means, a human taking responsibility of their own lives. Recognising that our behaviour is a result of our decisions and not our conditions. That despite the negativity around us from limitation of our body, our family, our society, our government, our economy- that we have the obligation to take a decision and be responsible to find a solution. That is instead of blaming everything around us (even if they do deserve the blame), we find ways to overcome it, rather than accepting it.

This is really tough. It takes real guts to actually do it. But this is what separates the winners from the losers. History is so full of it.

Same is the case of businesses. A proactive business is one, that takes responsibility of its own success. Recognising that its decisions, policies, strategies and tactics will define its path forward to success, and not the external or internal environment. It does not blame someone and sit back in losses. It finds a way out. It finds a way to grow.

And we have seen companies that are proactive, that rose from worst situations to be world leaders. In fact, it is during recessions and bad economic conditions, that new players come out of nowhere and bypass the old big players.

So what is the opposite of proactive? it’s “reactive”. Reactive companies are what we see all around us. Companies or businesses that react to situations, to new policies, to new regulations, to new economic challenges. Reactive people are always affected by the physical environment. Their success and failure is depended on the environment they are based in. Similarly Reactive Businesses, their success and failure depends on what is the state of the environment they operate in. If its booming, they do well. If it’s going down, they also go down. They don’t have a control over their status. It’s like a balloon floating in the air, or a paper boat in a river.

So what should businesses do, to be Proactive?

First they should have a Proactive Leader. The leader should inspire his team to build a proactive culture. A culture that breeds more people, who believe in the power of proactivity. Such people think, plan, take decisions in a proactive manner. The rest will be history.

Success is not easy. Success and growth is for the proactive ones.

One of the biggest challenges that a Startup, Innovator or an Entrepreneur faces is the resistance and demotivation he faces from his own family, especially Father and Mother. People to whom you can’t talk back, people you are forced to listen to when they speak, people whom you have to see everyday.

It might be a taboo to talk about this. But it’s a reality that is preventing many from not starting anything, or not starting a business that they love to do opposed to what they ought to do.

Some parents are such wholesale dealers of negativism that it’s unimaginable. They use religion, emotional black mailing and even emotional attack to stop you from making that jump, or from continuing what you are doing.

I feel it’s the hardest part that our young entrepreneurs face. Many a times it’s about money. Most of our old generation do not see the beauty of creating something new. They are only concerned about the financial aspect, “so how much are you making now?”. And that’s it.

The measuring yard is only the positive cash flow, the rest (innovative product, a service that adds value to humanity, something that creates jobs, saves environmental etc) gets no appreciation from them. They see it with contempt. It’s always something that others have to do, not their sons or daughters.

How do we survive this extreme challenge, that erupts within our house itself? Positively ignore.

Just know that your life is yours (not your father’s, mothers’s, wife’s or even your kids). You don’t get a second chance. You believe in something, and if doing it makes you happy- just do it. You should learn to detoxify yourself everyday from the negativity that you heard the other day. If possible move away from staying with them (if you have brothers and sisters who are with parents- as they should never be made alone). And look into mirror and say, it’s not about money, big house than neighbour or bigger car than your friends. It’s about living a life that you won’t regret. Money is what you earn in process to get your family and yourself going.

Then you might end up making a multi billion enterprise or you might end up doing a small business. Either way, you die without regrets nor will you pass the responsibility of living “your life” to your sons.