Business Transformation ( End ) : Wisdom Stimulus

Transformation of any business, requires a certain level of process maturity . However , at certain times companies with a strong management, and a clear vision, with proper strategies, can make the business transformation happen, even on a weak process . In this case there has to be tight integration between the different modules of transformation . Below are the modules of transformation in an ideal consulting situation.

1. Vision development
2. Strategic Planning
3. Learning Design– Corporate coaching on Business transformation
4. Project Planning and Management
5. Change Management
6. Business Process Management
7. Benefits Management
8. Brand Management

I recently wrote an ebook. It is on how an organization can move, through the business transformation process, with taking some hints form , old management classic - Gita. It is written in a simple style and can be easily grasped for application of the concepts . The book is published by Lulu . You can find it here after clicking this link.

Ebook Wisdom-Stimulus

The book cost $50.

Business Transformation VIII : Learning Business Transformation

Can a subject like Business Transformation be educated ? This is an obvious question which comes when we talk about which infact is an integral field and takes its component from different areas to define its boundary . Learning Business Transformation would having a high degree of Mathametical and IT skills alongwith good understanding Business Strategy . The most important part is to learn what Entreprenuership is all as they are people who intiates business transformation in a organization . The learning has to also move through Business planning and behavioral sciences . Here is a brief description on some of the learning parths of Business Transformation .


Personal Transformation Program
Business Planning for Business Transformation
Businesss Transformation for Entreprenuership
Softskills for Business Transformation
Human Resource Management for Business Transformation
Organisational Behaviour for Business Transformation
Financial Planning for Business Transformation

In the next few writings , I will take on each learning paths and describe how it could help on reaching the learning goals of Business Transformation.

Business Transformation VII : Building a Vision

Business transformation projects from “consulting proposal to delivery” has one thing very common. It is the requirement of a clear , defined and precise vision statement . This is what , moves the transformation process . There are doubts in organization that how much of the time would be send on defining higher laws for the Business . Let me dispel ,those doubts . An organization is a collective activity and it requires a collective consensus to operate in harmony . Without higher laws and vision in place , it is very hard for a volume of people to move on the same direction which would be beneficial for the welfare of the organization .That’s why vision, mission and principle statement is a very important tool which creates purpose for the organization both inside and outside . It is by these values that organization start getting mind space of the people . It is needless to say , that people buy a brand which is in there mind space . This basic has to be followed on making any business transformation proposal.

Business Transformation VI : Managed Service and Application Development

There are different forms of outsourcing model which are existing today . However the economic pressure will create a consolidating move. Solo-sourcing is already in challenge . It is too risky to concentrate only in one vendor . The Multiple sourcing is still alive . This is where companies meet there outsourcing goals from a number of vendors . Still ,the tough economic climate is making one outsourcing model most ‘sought after model’ – i.e Best of Breed model . This is where the niche suppliers are brought into and they not only cut cost ,but creates a lot of value. This intrinsic value is something which will determine the survival of a company on the long period of present recession which Past Chairman of Infosys ‘Narayanmurthy’ refers as the “Mother of all Recession”.

Obviously these recession brings a new form of Budgetary pressure to the business model and need for a shared risk and reward model would be adopted by increasing number of corporation.

This way, Managed Service model provides a noninvasive approach to outsourcing. The skills and competencies are provided with customization to client's requirements. It gives a certain degree of flexibility to implement and manage key projects, without the disadvantages of full blown outsourced contracts.

On the top of it there was a new requirement for further specialized managed application suits. This takes it more close and similar to the SAAS ( Software as a Service ) which gives the flexibility of on demand solutions which gives the best of both world – control and flexibility of our information system without the pain or cost of running them yourself which are denoted as the traditional constraint of outsourcing . This also brings closer to the classic ‘economies of scale model’ which gives more for less.

However , the new wave goes even further , and tries to determine that what kind of value on terms of business a managed service provider can give on the top of specialized application suits . This is where the vendor needs to know about the business of the client and how it could be transformed . The value which is generated from this move is much higher as it outsourcing is not moves from transactional to transition and further moves to transformational .

Business Transformation VI : Creative Class and Technology Outsourcing

Last 20 years we have seen ,a new generation of creative professionals emerging in the scenario of IT . However those professionals avoided the ITES companies as it specialized on executing routine jobs. But as the ITES companies of India , move high in the value chain , working in a risk sharing and strategic partnership model, for the outsourcing client , the repetitive work cliché on outsourcing industry is going to break down.

We have already seen a lot of high intellectual population joining ITES bandwagon with the advent of KPO, which is widely considered as Outsourcing 2.0. BTO ( Business Transformation Outsourcing ) which will be considered as Outsourcing 3.0 , lot of highly creative professional will join the ITES bandwagon . As more and more services are going to be online, with the web 3.0 combing with cloud computing movement , the outsourcing 3.0 is going to give tremendous opportunity for unlocking creative potentials, which no other creative platform can possibly give right now .

Business Transformation V : Market Research

One of the best applications , I have found to have far reaching effect on transforming any web business is Google analytics . Analytics which is set to turn a visitor into a customer , has well thought out Business architectural paradigm .Earlier , I have used Analog and found that it can create a certain degree of clarity of mind , however would not have that transformational experience which analytics have for any website .

Truly , it is one of the best market research tools, where you can exactly understand the patterns of visitors consumption of a particular web assets and create deeper insight about your business , which can change the way you think about your business.

Business Transformation -IV : BTO new outsourcing mantra ?

Is BTO ( Business Transformation Outsourcing) the new mantra for third generation outsourcing Business ?.

All evidence indicates towards that . Now the clients are just not looking for cost cutting by outsourcing . They are looking for more value. They want there business to transform to an Fortune 500 company .They think outsourcing can help on doing that .

Is it possible ?.

With the economic downturn obviously , the expectation are high and the clients are looking for more performance from there vendors.

The market potential for BTO, is expected to be around $680 billion by 2008-09. Also the percentage of BTO services in the outsourcing spectrum is expected to increase from 19% in 2004 to 31% by 2009. ( Ref : ASSOCHAM Study )

Business Transformation (Part III) : Simplicty works ? - An Interview with RND

Ranendra Narayan Dutta , is known for his simplicity .He also made simplicity, the mission statement of his company – Nature Technologies Pvt Ltd . But does simplicity helps to handle recession better . Straight talk with the CEO of Nature Technologies Pvt Ltd who is known also for his evangelist skills.

Joydip: You have been some time in Industry now . Worked as a techie and then in the middle level management of a Software Company . Then you have started your own venture . So this is the second time , you are seeing a tough recession continuing for a long duration after dot com burst . How do you find it different then the earlier one ?


R.N.D : Joydip, I have seen the recessions come; Upset every equation; Have analysts predict everything that makes sense; Yet be wrong time and again; Finally the Sine wave from Physics dominates Economics. From crest to trough to crest; the surge continues. I believe recessions come to be over some day and rejuvenate business with new caution. These are to be forgotten till the next recession knocks the door again.

My perspective of the recessions has always been in respect to Information Technology market, apart from my amateurish interest in Capital Market movement world-over.

I believe recessions are the stabilizing factor to erase out the non-sustainable elements of the market. They are for good. Last time during the Dot Com Boom, the phenomenon was not at all sustainable. That’s why it crashed with a boom. From the perspective of Information Technology the recession was targeted at the not so GREAT IT market. Finally the market corrected itself. So the wrath of the recession was mainly on IT sectors in Dot Coms and Y2K. The weak but hyped organizations perished. The organizations that made sense prevailed to GROW big. In my opinion the Dot Com burst was a blessing for the people who use IT and who invest in IT. Being realistic is important after all.

This recession of the current time is actually an aftermath of the Dot Com crash. People started investing on housing assets and prices rose to a level that was again UNREALISTIC. Now real estate drove things to sky high in the capital market. Information Technology has a limited share of its wrongs this time. But obviously since we are all in the IT services sector which is a tertiary sector, we get hit no matter what goes wrong in the financial market.

Last time , when we had the Dot Com burst and recession, I was a techie and saw the desperation of my employer, Mindteck India to stay alive. They survived and that too with a BIG BANG. We moved to Embedded Technologies from Enterprise Computing. My previous company where I joined as a trainee and grew to be in the managerial position catapulted itself to a great position, due to its paradigm shift. It was tough, but those who dare to face the recession make it BIG. Mindteck is now doing GREAT now days. Thanks to Mr. Shankar Velayudhan, the General Manager then.

This time when the recessions hit hard I am in the chair as a CEO managing, a 2 years old company, Nature Technologies, dealing in End-to-End Information Technology solutions for my customers in US and Europe. Things have been tough, but I had been brave this time. We did intelligent marketing, made pricing REALISTIC, approached the sectors that don’t suffer from recessions like Legal and Healthcare. We are doing well. We are expecting a growth in revenue of around 100% this year. Nature Technologies became even SIMPLER with the recessions storming the markets.

This time, I feel that the people who have money to invest and keep the markets rolling are skeptical but are willing to make investments in small chunks in Technology that minimizes their risks of seeing all their money gone in a fast time. Technology solutions with prototypes, marketing campaigns, small pluggable releases and payments are the call of this recession. We are offering the best price so that people can afford to dip their toes in the water.

Answering your question in a sentence; Joydip, I see this recession as a friendly recession for Techno savvy companies and realistic business. Because investors are no longer interested in UNREAL HYPE.

Joydip: You talk a lot about simplicity ? What do you mean by it? Can it be really practiced when the World is becoming so complex , specially on the time of recession , when the complexity reaches in its heightening discourses.

R.N.D :What sustains at the end is “SIMPLICITY”. Did Google disappear after the Dot Com bubble? No! Isn’t it? Google had a simple approach to business. It had its message UNAMBIGUOUS. “SEARCH THROUGH US”.

Simplicity is actually the strongest trait of HUMAN THOUGHT PROCESS. You love your teacher who taught you in simple terms. You love a website that is easy to use. You love the remote of your TV if it’s easy to use. You prefer a normal cell phone over a Smart Phone because it is simple. Isn’t it?

We are surviving this recession with Simplicity. I need to convince my customers precisely how they benefit. Use simple methods through technology. Minimize costs to simply make profits. We worked on our marketing strategy to make it easy for a business house to assess how we improve their ROI. We made our proposals short and simple. No hidden costs and conditions. People take the shortest time to accept us as a service provider. And that works great for us.

Nature Technologies is being driven by Simplicity and it gives us the speed to act upon and deliver.

I should say that whatever sustains is SIMPLE. Because if something is not sustainable you need to project it in the most complex way, to get the thing to the table and sell it. Ultimately the customers find out that its not what you meant and you are gone. So if something is needed the most now a days, then its SIMPLICITY.

Joydip: Do you see this recession is going to break the glass ceiling for the lower class to become entrepreneur ? There are more cases of slum millionaires will come forward, when corporate giants will fail ? As a Corporate evalengist, where
do you see the world in next 5 years ?


R.N.D :As I said before, the recessions are like a wave that cleanses the market and the competition. Generally as the Corporates grow, they tend to move away from practicality, to aggression based on individual’s dreams and aspirations. Most of the time than not, a corporate’s goal is not realistic. Often the big corporations forget who is the market. They tend to believe that they can change the market, people’s perceptions and the demands. Based on these insights a lot of money is spent, people are tried to be dominated into believing what is best for them, and in short term this seems to be doing good. But after sometimes this concept perishes and the UNREALISTIC dreams and offerings fall to the ground.

On the other hand the slum dogs are more PRACTICAL. They have learned to survive the hard way. Their prowess is limited to their own dreams. They go by the way a PRACTICAL customer thinks, and they get their support. So I should say, yes this recession will break the myth of the complacent jobs that one has with a multi national. It will break the myth that only the big survive. Customers are now looking for what MAKES SENSE. They don’t want big buzz words, bug promises and spend unnecessarily. They need performers and those who do it SIMPLE. Because Simplicity is EASY, LESS COSTLY and FAST!

Business Transformation : Technology Outsourcing route

Technology outsourcing is the best optimization of cost, for an organization. Definitely, on the cost front outsourcing had a major advantage . However , same could be mentioned on the strategic front too . The client company could concentrate on doing what it does best , and leave the rest to the vendor companies . This strategic advantage can be termed as Core Competency going with C.K Pralahad's definition . However , 2500 years back a spiritual leader had also commented on it . Though, his coinages where different , Sri Krishna talked about the same concept of 'Core competency' in his coinage of 'Swadharma" .

In his advises to Arjuna , he mentioned about 'Swadharma' and why one should always stick to his 'swadharma' . Though thid term could be used in Organisational context , it was originally meant for individual usage . However,the stretching still brings a new perspective , that as there is individual swadharma , there should be an organizational swadharma too . It could be referred as the soul of organization and what meant to do .

If an organization , finds its core competency and concentrates then it actually does something very different , even if it is doing the same old thing . Some way the organization attunes with that Organizational soul . This itself is an transforming experience as it makes the organization aligned to an higher direction , without conscious intervention . In that point , it was very important for the company , to move out from the chores, where it did not have such kind of core competency .

Technology outsourcing plays a key role here, and gives the Company the important tool of functioning, in the sphere of the core competency. Needless to say it creates a huge impact on the Corporate spending . I am reminded my favourite wisdom quote that Milton Friedman conveyed in his "four ways to spend money" in an interview with Fox News:

"There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government. And that’s close to 40% of our national income."

Spending the organization money on somebody else , is where the organization always tries to get best out of the money . That is the inner philosophy , which made outsourcing such a successful practice, and transforming experience for Business.

Business Transformation (Part 1) Recession is an opportunity to transformation ?

There are times when, when taking a 'Business Transformation' project is much easier . Rest of the time , initiating a Business transformation project, which involve complete overhauling of the entire system , companies has to build a collective consensus . Convincing multiple stakeholders, for a business transformation project , is in itself a complicated process . However , recession in the market makes it more easier to take such an project , as the stakeholders of the organisation , finds no option other than that.

Infact , there are Organizational recession and there are Market Recession , both of them often, trigger business transformation project. In the times of recession ,the common sense advise comes from everybody is cutting cost, and keeping a constant eye on bottom-line . However you find less people going beyond that , and trying to explain , what it really takes to transform the bottom-line pressure, into an opportunity.

Infact to get an understanding on how to turn it into opportunity, we have to understand the cost control remedies much deeply. There are three ways of cutting cost in a standard recession situation

1) The Accounting way : This is the way , which is practiced conventionally and which works inside the layers of operation, and tries to control the buying and selling acts of items inside a process, to control the cost.

2) The Technology way : This is the way , which is practiced with the innovative companies in the process layer, which tries to apply technology on certain organizational process, in order to make it cheaper, faster and better.

3) The Transformational Way : This is the way , which is practiced in overall organization, involving strategic change , change of people , process and operation. Here the change doesn’t remain restricted to certain compartments . It gets extended as an integrated organizational change. In the transformational way , the technology , accounting , strategy changes and overall integration of those changes make people also change , who are the change agents.


The first two ways , there is less emphasis on people . But in the transformational way, people has an extensive focus as they are the real change agents . The change of strategy ,process and operation happen only when people changes .

(To be continued ….)