Dear students
You want to be competitive . Here are some tips to learn.
Gautam Bansal
Probably, the world outside India is still passing through one of the toughest times of our lifetime. Trillions of dollars are getting eroded, the wealthiest of nations are going bankrupt and the leaders whom we thought to be the greatest of our times are proving that there is indeed only a single step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Tough times breed good leaders. This is quite contrary to the boom time, where every other corporate manager appears like a leader, despite real competencies, because people are caught up in the momentum of high growth and easy success.
Tough times breed good leaders. This is quite contrary to the boom time, where every other corporate manager appears like a leader, despite real competencies, because people are caught up in the momentum of high growth and easy success.
History has demonstrated time and again that effective leaders—, who can mobilize people, tackle tough problems and can spot opportunities in crises — are most apparent in times of great stress, change and uncertainty.
As former Mayor of New York city Rudolph Giuliani said, “It is of times of crisis that good leaders emerge”. The greatest testimony to this is Giuliani himself, who was once a lame duck philandering husband but went on to be the embodiment of an indomitable spirit in a time of great crisis.
Another good example is Barun Kumar “Bicky” Chakraborty, who as a student arrived in Sweden and started tinkering around with his entrepreneurship dreams. He was soon caught up in a slowing economy.
But Bicky decided to get going as the going got tougher. He mobilised some resources to start a pub, because he realised that during recession time professionals did not like to be seen at upmarket restaurants. “I opened pubs when the economy was slow and gloomy. I cashed in on the gloom”, he says. Today, he has 30 pubs, owns Sweden’s most popular chain of budget hotels and pubs and is one of the richest men in Scandinavia.
According to consulting firm McKinsey, almost 40% of the leading US industrial companies toppled from the first quartile of their sectors during the 2000-01 recessions. A third of leading US banks met the same fate. Ironically, during the same time, 15% of companies that were not industry leaders prior to the recession, vaulted into that position. Bad times are good times for people who have the resolve to emerge leaders.
Leadership Takeaway: The Chinese character for “crisis” consists of two symbols. One means “danger,” the other “opportunity.” Every bad time hides an opportunity in it. It would be visible only to those people who really want it to see it. Use the current recession to your advantage to hone your leadership skills and to elevate your team to the next level.
But Bicky decided to get going as the going got tougher. He mobilised some resources to start a pub, because he realised that during recession time professionals did not like to be seen at upmarket restaurants. “I opened pubs when the economy was slow and gloomy. I cashed in on the gloom”, he says. Today, he has 30 pubs, owns Sweden’s most popular chain of budget hotels and pubs and is one of the richest men in Scandinavia.
According to consulting firm McKinsey, almost 40% of the leading US industrial companies toppled from the first quartile of their sectors during the 2000-01 recessions. A third of leading US banks met the same fate. Ironically, during the same time, 15% of companies that were not industry leaders prior to the recession, vaulted into that position. Bad times are good times for people who have the resolve to emerge leaders.
Leadership Takeaway: The Chinese character for “crisis” consists of two symbols. One means “danger,” the other “opportunity.” Every bad time hides an opportunity in it. It would be visible only to those people who really want it to see it. Use the current recession to your advantage to hone your leadership skills and to elevate your team to the next level.
For most business people, any thought of possible economic downturn is a frightening prospect.
ReplyDeleteInstead of lamenting that the world is ending, it's time to consider business opportunities that will arise during a recession.
Recessions mean lower employment levels, difficulty in personal and company bill paying, lower numbers of customers, foreclosures of homes and businesses, and a trend to cutting operating and capital costs. All of these scenarios present business opportunities for an entrepreneur.
few e.gs can b
1) Unemployed people need assistance in finding new jobs. We can consider starting an employment agency, a life coaching service, a personal image consultancy, job skills training, or a resume writing service. Helping people become employed is a public service as we help other companies find talented staff people.
2)Helping companies increase their customer lists and boost their sales success is a powerful form of consulting service.
3)Many companies will elect to contract out many departments, ranging from accounting to law to personnel to marketing. A nimble entrepreneur will be able to pick up that work on a contract basis. Be sure to keep an eye open to grab the opportunities at the earliest.
Anchal Aneja
PGDM-B