Time will validate/negate his comparison of Nokia & Microsoft to “turkeys”. However we’d do well to remember his statement in choosing our business partners while starting out.

Though a friendly equation helps, one cannot lose sight of the goal. What am I out to accomplish? I cannot – being a non techie, partner with another non techie, to make a technical product. It just won’t work. I could however make that partnership work should I decide to be a reseller of a product that we’re both comfortable selling.

This seems so obvious & yet it cannot be stated enough. Because given a choice people always prefer doing business with people they’re comfortable with even though that alliance may lead to a turkey.

I’ve been in various meetings. Some with a tactical theme & some more important strategy formulation meetings. One thing I’ve found amusing is how the leader in trying to drive consensus in his team often becomes the “Emperor” from the fable – The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Allow me to elaborate. The very act of wanting to reach a consensus after hours of brainstorming leads people to “want to make this happen”. This in turn has at times lead to a lot of yes men saying “Emperor your robe is the finest in the kingdom”.

Sometimes, a kid in the crowd can be heard saying “But he’s not wearing anything”. More often that voice goes unheard. The subsequent devastations of a half baked strategy put into execution are only too apparent.

It’s a fine line that the leader must walk between driving consensus & avoiding group think.

I joined a company that had just started a new SBU. I was interviewed by the BU Head & was chosen. I had the privilege of working with this gentleman for over two years. When I quit, in January of 2008, I asked this person why he’d recruited me & given me so many chances beyond my skills or knowledge. He told me then that in his 18 years in starting & running businesses, he’d learned one important secret about Human Capital. It’s all about the ASK, & in that order.

A – Attitude

S – Skill

K – Knowledge

ASK Principle

I had the opportunity, over the years, of working with different people & seeing success & failure, personally & around me. I have found that often the people with the skills & knowledge failed to accomplish because the attitude was lacking. Whereas an “upstart” with an attitude would acquire the skills & knowledge to get the job done. It is this, that gentleman saw in some of us those years back & it is this, my friends, I’d urge you to look for in people, when you’re starting out.

This is especially true for those first few people you surround yourself with in business, including both your business partner(/s) & those first few employees you’ll need to hire. Because it’s not the ideas that will make or break you, it’s the execution of those ideas & that requires people who have a “can do” attitude to begin with… then comes the skills & knowledge.

Any thoughts on this topic, sharing of experiences are welcome.

1. A Rope
2. A Wall
3. A Pillar
4. A Fan
5. A Spear
6. A Snake

Now each individual in drawing a likeness was right in his own way and yet they were all wrong.

Let’s consider this in the business context. Each business has certain familiar departments such as Sales & Marketing, Accounts & Finance, Human Resources, and Procurement etc. Each would be headed by an able individual who should at an instant give an apt description of the organization & its performance and he would be right like all the other department heads & yet they would all be wrong like the blind men in the above fable.

Now suppose for a moment the condition of a Mahout (CEO) who has to drive the elephant onwards relying only on inputs from the blind men. What do you suppose would happen? This is where a need for a Business Intelligence Initiative is felt. To bring light to all the men involved so none is blind to the description of the elephant & how to guide it forward.

Other thoughts, opinions are as always welcome.

Now if you ask me, such a rating is as good as saying “Hey great strategy Dave, It’s a shame you lost the game of chess, though.” I shudder to provide an example in business. Incidentally the executive in question was rated highly in strategy formulation & not so good in the execution of the same.

Another shocker (which I’m increasingly getting used to) was that there were no clear KPIs percolating down the org. chart to measure the impact of such strategies formulated by the Grey Eminences & Young Turks.

Not surprisingly, the company in question has seen a lull in business not entirely consequent to the global financial crisis.

This is unfortunately a state of affairs with quite a few companies in the SMB segment in India, which are unable to recognize the impediment to growth despite showing an initial promise of greatness.

Other opinions, solution – oriented thoughts are welcome.