Indians as crisis managers

Are more and more global cos in troubled times turning to Indians with their innate skill to 'kindly adjust'?

Mythili Bhusnurmath

VIKRAM Pandit, Arun Sarin, Rakesh Gangwal, Rono Dutta, Indra Nooyi, Deven Sharma — what do all of them have in common? Sure, they are all Indians who made it to the helm at global giants — Citigroup, Vodafone, US Airways, United Airlines, Pepsi and Standard and Poor's, respectively. But there is something else all of them, with the exception perhaps of Nooyi, have in common. They were all appointed to the top job when their companies were passing through particularly troubled times.
    Take Vikram Pandit. He came to Citi just as the financial giant was reeling under the sub-prime crisis. As one of the most aggressive players in the financial sector, Citi's devil-may-care attitude, best symbolised by former CEO's Chuck Prince's comment, "As long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance," ended in disaster.
    When the music stopped, Citi found itself reeling under losses and Prince found himself out of a job. So who did the Board bring in to pick up the pieces and restore order? Vikram Pandit.
    It's much the same story at S&P. The credit rating agency, along with Moody's, has an overwhelming share of the ratings business. Such is their influence that Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, once remarked, 'there are two superpowers in the world — the United States and Moody's bond-rating service — and it is sometimes unclear which is more powerful.' He could have as well been talking of S&P.
    Today rating agencies are out in the cold, unloved by many. Faced with mounting criticism, S&P was forced to dump its President, Kathleen Corbett. Who did they turn to? India-born Deven Sharma!
    Vodafone may not have been in as deep trouble as Citi and S&P when Arun Sarin took the reins in 2003. But the telecom major was still trying to digest various bold acquisitions and Sarin faced considerable shareholder opposition before he came out trumps and the tide turned in his favour.
    So too with Gangwal and Dutta. Both came to troubled airlines and though they might not have achieved the success of a Sarin, they performed commendably, given the odds against them.
    What is all this a pointer to? Could it be that Indians, long recognised for their managerial skills, are now increasingly being seen as good crisismanagers too? Part of the reason for this could be cultural. Indian managers, at least those who've spent their early years in India, are used to a far from perfect world. Every day brings a minor crisis. Almost! You never know what to expect. Things that you routinely take for granted in the West, basic amenities like water and electricity or even law and order, for instance, can never be taken as a given. So we learn to improvise, work around problems rather than take them head-on. 'Jugad' (making do) is in our DNA while our 'kindly adjust' spirit means we have an innate ability to focus on common elements that bind rather than differences that could get in the way.
    This was brought home to me very starkly during a conference on doing business in a globalised world when a New Zealander spoke of how handicapped his countrymen from monoculture New Zealand — English-speaking, largely Christian and white — felt when it came to dealing with diverse cultures, especially in Asia. That's something none of us in India can complain of. We're such a riot of cultures, languages, religions, that it is almost impossible for any of us to grow up without exposure to a multitude of ideas and beliefs.
    Take something as simple as language. The average educated Indian grows up with at least two-languages — English and Hindi — and if you are not from the Northern belt, then with a minimum of three — English, Hindi and your mother tongue. In metros and increasingly in smaller towns as well, your neighbours could be from any part of the country, speak one of more than 50 languages (if you include dialects) and belong to any religion.
    Yet none of this fazes us. We learn to get by. The ultimate test of this, of course, is the paneer masala dosa! If you can eat one and relish it, why then managing global companies with businesses in varied locations and employees belonging to diverse nationalities should be a cakewalk! Any wonder more and more companies in trouble are turning to Indians?
    mythili.bhusnurmath@timesgroup.com