INDIA’S BEST STRATEGISTS – PART II
Have a dream, and make a plan on how to live it and
realise it. If you eventually get there by being consistent and unwavering in
that objective, overcoming uncertainty and obstacles along the way, best
utilising the (often limited) resources at your disposal, and translating that
foresight into a product or service that is unique and difficult to replicate,
you will have emerged a successful strategist — a person with a single-minded
objective who doesn’t get distracted from his goal by his rivals, setbacks and
detractors. Here are the dreamers who
have made significant progress in translating their insight into reality— from
the corporate world (CEOs as well as honchos who have made a big difference to
their organisations), bureaucracy, academia, law, the social sector,
healthcare, films and sport. :: Team ET Magazine
6.Rajesh Jain, 45
SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
NETWORKING MODI That conversation with Mr Modi will remain etched in my memory.... As I sat interacting with him, the realisation came that this was the type of person India needed to transform the nation.” Rajesh Jain wrote in a November 2011 blog post after he came back from China, where he went as part of a Gujarat business delegation led by chief minister Narendra Modi. Jain was noted then by the BJP for the network of professionals he started, called Friends of BJP. The previous year, he was among the few outside invitees to the party’s National Council meeting in Indore.
Serial entrepreneur, investor, technologist, committed BJP supporter and shy to the point of reclusiveness, Jain has tirelessly laid down his vision for the party in extensive posts on his blog — Emergic.org. In 2011, he argued that the BJP should focus on creating a wave for the 2014 election. “BJP’s approach needs to be to work towards creating a wave in 2014 — across the country... No one...is thinking of what it takes to create a wave.” He certainly did. He has been a key backroom player in creating a Modi wave on social media, consistently pushing the envelope on what was regarded as necessary by Indian politicians. Now, everyone is hankering to replicate Modi’s success.
He made many millions early on, when he sold his portal India World in 1999 to Sify for 500 crore. He is currently invested in 10 companies. He is wealthy and willing to put his money where his mouth is — he has funded the rightleaning website NitiCentral. Because he does not harbor political ambitions himself, and because he is a wiz with technology, Jain makes a strategist most politicians can only dream of.
— Sruthijith KK
EXPERT-SPEAK: “It [Modi’s digital campaign] has given a blueprint of Modi’s vision”
Rajiv Dingra, CEO of social media agency WATConsult
SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
NETWORKING MODI That conversation with Mr Modi will remain etched in my memory.... As I sat interacting with him, the realisation came that this was the type of person India needed to transform the nation.” Rajesh Jain wrote in a November 2011 blog post after he came back from China, where he went as part of a Gujarat business delegation led by chief minister Narendra Modi. Jain was noted then by the BJP for the network of professionals he started, called Friends of BJP. The previous year, he was among the few outside invitees to the party’s National Council meeting in Indore.
Serial entrepreneur, investor, technologist, committed BJP supporter and shy to the point of reclusiveness, Jain has tirelessly laid down his vision for the party in extensive posts on his blog — Emergic.org. In 2011, he argued that the BJP should focus on creating a wave for the 2014 election. “BJP’s approach needs to be to work towards creating a wave in 2014 — across the country... No one...is thinking of what it takes to create a wave.” He certainly did. He has been a key backroom player in creating a Modi wave on social media, consistently pushing the envelope on what was regarded as necessary by Indian politicians. Now, everyone is hankering to replicate Modi’s success.
He made many millions early on, when he sold his portal India World in 1999 to Sify for 500 crore. He is currently invested in 10 companies. He is wealthy and willing to put his money where his mouth is — he has funded the rightleaning website NitiCentral. Because he does not harbor political ambitions himself, and because he is a wiz with technology, Jain makes a strategist most politicians can only dream of.
— Sruthijith KK
EXPERT-SPEAK: “It [Modi’s digital campaign] has given a blueprint of Modi’s vision”
Rajiv Dingra, CEO of social media agency WATConsult
7.Gary Kirsten, 45
FORMER COACH, INDIA CRICKET TEAM, AND COACH, DELHI DAREDEVILS
THE OTHER ‘CAPTAIN COOL’
Gary Kirsten would certainly not a find a place on the list of the greatest cricketers, but there is no doubt that he, having made India both the best Test team in 2009 and World Cup champions in 2011, is among the best coaches of recent times and among the most successful coaches ever of the Indian cricket team. The former South African opener’s task when he signed up with the Indian team in December 2007 was no walk in the park, especially since his predecessor Greg Chappell’s relations with the team had not been very cordial. “The foremost thing he did was working behind the scenes and not wasting time with the media. That gave the players a sense of responsibility,” says Anshuman Gaekwad, coach of the Indian team between 1997 and 1999. Kirsten attended individually to the needs of his players, big or small; stressed on the importance of effective cameo innings rather than big individual scores; and played the perfect foil to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who like Kirsten has a calm but steely head on his shoulders. His gamble on Paddy Upton as mental conditioning coach and adventurer Mike Horn as a motivational speaker earned the team handsome returns.
After the World Cup victory, Kirsten continued as coach of the South African team and earlier this month was appointed coach of the Indian Premier League team Delhi Daredevils. If his track record is anything to go by, the struggling Daredevils can only move in one direction in the rankings: up.
— G Seetharaman
PEER-SPEAK: “The foremost thing he did was work behind the scenes and not waste time with the media”
Anshuman Gaekwad, Former India coach
8.Pratap Bhanu Mehta, 46
PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CENTRE FOR POLICY RESEARCH
IT’S ALL IN HIS MIND
Perhaps the most obvious change in the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) since Pratap Bhanu Mehta took over as president in August 2004 is in the average age of researchers and faculty at the venerable institution. It has fallen by several decades since Mehta took charge.
But the arguably more important shift he has made is to sharply widen the pool of faculty well beyond the traditional Delhi think-tank preserve of retired civil servants, and include expert or academic input. All this, says Mehta, was a conscious strategy. “We were aware that things needed to be done differently.”
He himself gives credit to the board of the institution. “It was very important for the board, the president and the faculty to have a common understanding of the core values of the institution.” The main way to draw good researchers away from top flight universities overseas was never going to be money — Indian thinktanks are still under-funded compared with American or European counterparts. In lieu of that, the attraction had to be academic freedom — something that is alltoo-rare in Indian academia. “The board was very clear that freedom to pursue a research idea was critical,” says Mehta, pointing out that the board has also shielded the institution from outside pressure.
— Avinash Celestine
PEER-SPEAK:
“Pratap has brought in several very bright people into CPR & has allowed them space to do their research without interference”
CV Madhukar,
Director (investments), Omidyar Network, & co-founder, PRS Legislative Research
PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CENTRE FOR POLICY RESEARCH
IT’S ALL IN HIS MIND
Perhaps the most obvious change in the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) since Pratap Bhanu Mehta took over as president in August 2004 is in the average age of researchers and faculty at the venerable institution. It has fallen by several decades since Mehta took charge.
But the arguably more important shift he has made is to sharply widen the pool of faculty well beyond the traditional Delhi think-tank preserve of retired civil servants, and include expert or academic input. All this, says Mehta, was a conscious strategy. “We were aware that things needed to be done differently.”
He himself gives credit to the board of the institution. “It was very important for the board, the president and the faculty to have a common understanding of the core values of the institution.” The main way to draw good researchers away from top flight universities overseas was never going to be money — Indian thinktanks are still under-funded compared with American or European counterparts. In lieu of that, the attraction had to be academic freedom — something that is alltoo-rare in Indian academia. “The board was very clear that freedom to pursue a research idea was critical,” says Mehta, pointing out that the board has also shielded the institution from outside pressure.
— Avinash Celestine
PEER-SPEAK:
“Pratap has brought in several very bright people into CPR & has allowed them space to do their research without interference”
CV Madhukar,
Director (investments), Omidyar Network, & co-founder, PRS Legislative Research
9.Guneet Monga, 29,
CEO, ANURAG KASHYAP FILMS PVT LTD BEYOND THE 100-CRORE BLOCKBUSTER
When Guneet Monga joined Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt Ltd (AKFPL) in 2009, she was just 24. “No one would take me seriously when I tried to talk deals with them, I wanted to look older,” says Monga. But now she has no reason to worry: “People think I’m 40 and I’m happy. I have achieved what I set out to,” she chuckles.
Monga is CEO of AKFPL and Sikhya Entertainment, another film production company in the Kashyap stable. Her latest offering, The Lunchbox, which released this Friday, seems to be a culmination of sorts of her efforts so far. While her earlier film Peddlers got picked up by distributors for 12 territories across the world at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, The Lunchbox, made at a cost of $2 million, was sold in 28 territories in 24 hours at the festival this year. “With Lunchbox, she has converted independent films into a seemingly successful business model,” says Hansal Mehta, director of the upcoming film Shahid, on the murdered lawyer Shahid Azmi. The film, co-produced by AKFPL, has been screened at about 12 global film festivals.
Monga had a big role to play in that. “We were not familiar with international exposure, and Guneet carries a lot of credibility globally,” adds Mehta. Last year Monga was one of two Indian women on The Hollywood Reporter magazine’s list of ‘12 women leaders in entertainment’.
With films like Paan Singh Tomar and Ship of Theseus holding their own alongside gargantuan star vehicles, there is very little stopping Monga from churning out more of what she is best-known for: tightly budgeted, smartly promoted and engaging cinema.
— G Seetharaman
PEER-SPEAK: “With Lunchbox, she has converted independent films into a seemingly successful business model”
Hansal Mehta, Film director
CEO, ANURAG KASHYAP FILMS PVT LTD BEYOND THE 100-CRORE BLOCKBUSTER
When Guneet Monga joined Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt Ltd (AKFPL) in 2009, she was just 24. “No one would take me seriously when I tried to talk deals with them, I wanted to look older,” says Monga. But now she has no reason to worry: “People think I’m 40 and I’m happy. I have achieved what I set out to,” she chuckles.
Monga is CEO of AKFPL and Sikhya Entertainment, another film production company in the Kashyap stable. Her latest offering, The Lunchbox, which released this Friday, seems to be a culmination of sorts of her efforts so far. While her earlier film Peddlers got picked up by distributors for 12 territories across the world at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, The Lunchbox, made at a cost of $2 million, was sold in 28 territories in 24 hours at the festival this year. “With Lunchbox, she has converted independent films into a seemingly successful business model,” says Hansal Mehta, director of the upcoming film Shahid, on the murdered lawyer Shahid Azmi. The film, co-produced by AKFPL, has been screened at about 12 global film festivals.
Monga had a big role to play in that. “We were not familiar with international exposure, and Guneet carries a lot of credibility globally,” adds Mehta. Last year Monga was one of two Indian women on The Hollywood Reporter magazine’s list of ‘12 women leaders in entertainment’.
With films like Paan Singh Tomar and Ship of Theseus holding their own alongside gargantuan star vehicles, there is very little stopping Monga from churning out more of what she is best-known for: tightly budgeted, smartly promoted and engaging cinema.
— G Seetharaman
PEER-SPEAK: “With Lunchbox, she has converted independent films into a seemingly successful business model”
Hansal Mehta, Film director
10.Ramesh/Swati Ramanathan, 49/ 49
CO-FOUNDERS OF JANAAGRAHA
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE
In the 1990s not too many NRIs thought of returning to India. And even fewer thought of turning into social entrepreneurs.
Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan were the outliers. The husband, a banker, and the wife, an architect, quit their highflying careers in the US to return to India in 1998 and set up Janaagraha, an NGO. One of the most talked about urban civic movements, it works with citizens and government to improve the quality of life in cities and towns. “We were clear on two things — we wanted to build scale in whatever we did and focus on urban issues,” they say.
Over the years the duo have evolved and grown. They played an important role in shaping JNNURM1, the government’s city modernisation plan, in 2004. They pushed for community participation through the Nagara Raj Bill, which 20 states have passed. Just like gram sabha in villages, the bill recognises the rights of urban community. Their microfinance outfit Janaalakshmi caters to 2 million people and remained unsullied through the microfinance scandal.
Indian cities are growing frenetically without planning. Their urban space foundation is now helping evolve a broad template around which Indian cities must grow. Jaipur was the first one to sign up. Janaadhar, their initiative for low-cost housing, has just finished its first project and is starting three more. Their ipaidabribe.com helps track retail corruption.
At a time when civil society is gaining importance in India and urban issues are becoming critical, the Ramanathans stand out for being the pioneers and showing the way for Indian cities to grow.
— Malini Goyal
PEER-SPEAK: “I have become far more cynical in 10 years. But Swati and Ramesh remain optimists, hard at work to drive change in the society”
Jerry Rao, Entrepreneur
CO-FOUNDERS OF JANAAGRAHA
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE
In the 1990s not too many NRIs thought of returning to India. And even fewer thought of turning into social entrepreneurs.
Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan were the outliers. The husband, a banker, and the wife, an architect, quit their highflying careers in the US to return to India in 1998 and set up Janaagraha, an NGO. One of the most talked about urban civic movements, it works with citizens and government to improve the quality of life in cities and towns. “We were clear on two things — we wanted to build scale in whatever we did and focus on urban issues,” they say.
Over the years the duo have evolved and grown. They played an important role in shaping JNNURM1, the government’s city modernisation plan, in 2004. They pushed for community participation through the Nagara Raj Bill, which 20 states have passed. Just like gram sabha in villages, the bill recognises the rights of urban community. Their microfinance outfit Janaalakshmi caters to 2 million people and remained unsullied through the microfinance scandal.
Indian cities are growing frenetically without planning. Their urban space foundation is now helping evolve a broad template around which Indian cities must grow. Jaipur was the first one to sign up. Janaadhar, their initiative for low-cost housing, has just finished its first project and is starting three more. Their ipaidabribe.com helps track retail corruption.
At a time when civil society is gaining importance in India and urban issues are becoming critical, the Ramanathans stand out for being the pioneers and showing the way for Indian cities to grow.
— Malini Goyal
PEER-SPEAK: “I have become far more cynical in 10 years. But Swati and Ramesh remain optimists, hard at work to drive change in the society”
Jerry Rao, Entrepreneur
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