Thought Leadership

18 April 2019

Is geo-cultural sensitivity a must for business leaders to succeed in local markets?

The sudden arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the celebrated turnaround auto industry veteran under Japanese law has reiterated the fact that many of our top business leaders lack geo-cultural understanding And as corporations become more local to gain global dominance, knowledge of every country, its citizens, their culture and the communities that they...

11 March 2019

Are Modern Corporations Lacking in Customer Empathy?

Incidents of misbehavior or mistreatment of customers by staff have become a regular feature in today’s world While airlines take the cake, it occurs across industries, be it at eating joints to sophisticated brands Such incidents showcase a severe lack in empathy (respect) towards customers by employees Just this week, a mother was...

21 January 2019

What Corporate Boards Need to Look Out for in 2019

As we begin to settle in 2019, I thought of penning down certain key areas that need special attention from corporate boards across India Recent times have shown that involvement of board members in asking the right questions to the executive team is key to avoid any unpleasant surprises Unlike a few years back, when such responsibilities were...

11 December 2018

Reputation is the biggest (business) risk facing corporations in today’s world

Recently, the Institute of Directors, Singapore invited me for a talk on “Risk Management and Business Ethics” As the event progressed it made me realize that reputational risk is becoming a reality in the business world globally Initially, we assumed it is a western or American phenomenon but events during the year have shown that...

23 October 2018

Indra Nooyi – A leader who stood tall at work yet walked away with grace, a rarity in today’s corporate world

When Indra Nooyi stepped down as the CEO of PepsiCo, it was another milestone in her life and a regular event for the corporation In today’s time, a CEO’s movement in usually fraught with excitement, but it was totally missing in Indra’s case The move did not precede any controversy, leadership conflict, ethical or moral jurisprudence or...

17 September 2018

Will Elon Musk’s pot-smoking podcast have the Tesla dream going up in smoke?

How leadership behaviour is entwined with your corporate brand Over the last few weeks, we have been exposed to a flurry of news items showing the maverick founder of Tesla Elon Musk smoking marijuana on a live show hosted by comedian Joe Rogan Musk is no stranger to controversies, this being the latest From late night tweets about almost missing...

13 August 2018

5 Lessons that Leaders can learn from the Thai Cave Rescue Operation

It was a triumph against nature’s fury, helplessness, and the dark On July 10th, 2018, while the Wild Boars and their coach were successfully rescued from Tham Luang caves after a 17 day haul, people across the globe rejoiced their homecoming Their rescue was resonated with hope, light, strength, and miracle, all at once I was gripped to the...

16 July 2018

What can businesses learn from Croatia’s Outing in FIFA 2018

Championships are rarely won by a team of underdogs! But the 2018 FIFA World Cup came to an end yesterday, with surprising twists and an exciting finish! France clearly won the tournament by 2 goals but the real winner who clenched the cup of victory, in my opinion, is Croatia In our dynamic corporate world, there is a lot to learn from Croatia,...

26 June 2018

5 Lessons that Corporates must imbibe from the FIFA World Cup 2018

Every four years, football fever grips the world for about a month, and this year’s FIFA World Cup 2018 is no different While most of us are following the games closely, I want to share a few insights that businesses and professionals can learn from the event And it is not about football in general but specific to the World Cup It is a given...

30 May 2018

Sanctity of Customer Data – Are company boards aware of its RISK?

Some events in the past few months have thrown up risk issues that companies need to handle effectively Corporate leadership, be it at a management or board level is generally concerned with the risk of governance, financial reporting and product & solution efficacy towards customers However, I see, customer data sanctity and security to be...

08 May 2018

Are Boardrooms Getting Younger?

The need for striking an Age Diversity Balance in Boardrooms The global average age of the founder of a successful start-up is around 40 years The average age of founders of start-up companies backed by venture capitalists is around 31 years On the other hand, the average age of boards is about 62 years Both the founding management and the...

02 April 2018

Why Singapore is the World’s Favourite Investment Destination

Over the last twelve editions of the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings, Singapore has unfailingly appeared in the top two positions No easy feat, this reflects on the government’s unceasing focus on ensuring a business-friendly environment Not surprisingly, Singapore is the go-to destination for doing business I first visited...