Conquering the Chaos: Win in India, Win Everywhere by Ravi Venkatesan

leadership challenge is much greater
     than most other roles. In addition, along with China, India is often a microcosm of
     the entire company. All the divisions, products, and solutions of the company and
     all the functions, ranging from R&D to IT, are likely to be present. The India manager’s
     role is therefore a good test and an incubator of leadership, entrepreneurship, and
     general management ability.
    Recognizing this, several global CEOs see India as an incubator for the next generation
     of senior leaders, perhaps even the next CEO. Many companies, like Unilever, Ericsson,
     Schneider Electric, and Reckitt Benckiser, use India to accelerate the development
     of talented executives in their late thirties or early forties, who have the potential
     to be on the company’s leadership team. Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO of Schneider Electric,
     unequivocally says it is highly unlikely that his successor would not have cut his
     or her teeth in China or India.
    HOW HEADQUARTERS CAN HELP COUNTRY MANAGERS SUCCEED. It is not enough to hire a great country leader with the right stuff; multinational
     companies need to do all they can to help local leaders thrive. First, they must make
     the job attractive to the best and brightest. For instance, the Indian subsidiary
     should be a geographic profit center, with significant decision rights. The job level
     should be a function of the size of the opportunity, not the size of the business.
     The incumbent should be able to grow with the business for between five and ten years
     without having to leave India to boost his or her career.
    Second, the India and China country managers should report to a member of the top
     management team who has lived in and built a business in an emerging market, like
     Walmart’s Scott Price, Honeywell’s Shane Tedjarati, or Standard Chartered’s Jaspal
     Bindra. Leaders who have worked only in developed markets and have little empathy
     for emerging markets can be unintentionally dysfunctional. He or she should not be
     simply a hard-driving salesperson, but a strategic manager who is capable of reframing
     the company’s aspirations for India and aligning the global system behind them. He
     or she should also be capable of creating an environment in which leaders can flourish.
    Third, multinational companies must assign mentors to country managers. The counsel
     of a leader who has the full strategic picture and the ear of the CEO and other senior
     leaders is extraordinarily helpful. I was fortunate to have people like Joe Loughrey,
     Cummins’s chief operating officer, and Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief technology
     officer, as mentors. In companies like Nokia, Renault, and Ericsson, the global CEO
     makes it a point to engage regularly with the country heads of important countries
     like India. These connections are vital for getting a sense of market opportunities
     and spotting stresses in the system. They also boost the self-confidence and motivation
     of the India manager.
    FROM ONE COUNTRY MANAGER TO ANOTHER . Becoming the country head in India is most exhilarating and rewarding. If you enjoy
     new challenges; if you like to be stretched beyond your abilities; if you like to
     learn new things; if you like to visit remarkable places and meet interesting people;
     if you enjoy building a business; if you yearn to make a difference to people, to
     society, and to your company, there are few roles that can provide the same satisfaction
     as being the country head of a multinational in an emerging market. There may be a
     formal job description, but in reality, the job is whatever you make of it. Sure,
     there are boundaries and you can sometimes feel straitjacketed, but over time, if
     you approach the job with the right spirit and time frame, there is little that you
     cannot do.
    Being the country head can also be brutally tough. This is not a job; it is a 24/7
     mission, and it takes many years to accomplish something meaningful.