A global economic crisis like today’s calls for those with the means and resources to come together and dole out probable solutions to the current Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA). On that note, the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) has organized its first ever Global CEO Conference titled ‘Navigating a VUCA World’, which will take place this Wednesday, October 30, in Mumbai. Former Procter & Gamble India Chairman & Director and ex-ISA Chairman, bharat Patel, who is now a key Executive Committee Member of ISA, and Paulomi dhawan, ISA Treasurer & Events and Committee Chairperson, who is also Director, Landmarc Leisure Corporation and Advisor, Raymond, speak to shobhana nair about organizing the premium event and its theme
‘Companies need to be nimble and fast-footed’: Bharat Patel
Q] The first global CEO Conference on ‘Navigating a VUCA world’ is just round the corner. What are your expectations from this event?
I am hoping that there is large participation. With the kind of senior, successful leaders who will be speaking at the conference, I am sure there will be a lot of learning for everyone, especially senior managers.
Q] What are the different measures that entrepreneurs of all kinds can adopt right now, to navigate this VUCA world?
Companies, especially bigger organizations, need to be nimble and fast-footed. They also need to continuously innovate, in order to ensure that they are ahead of the competition, and in line with their consumers’ needs. Smaller entrepreneurs are already nimble, but they need to innovate too. They need to make their products and services more meaningful to a large number of consumers. Smaller organisations also need to be even more consumer-centric and should deliver to their consumers faster.
Q] There’s a feeling that the worst period is over. October brought in renewed hope and energy. What are your thoughts?
Nothing is permanent. We went through a similar phase in 2008-09 and we came out of that. I am very confident that this is a cyclical thing. Consumer goods are cyclical with small dips in line and with economic de-acceleration, but they are bound to go up soon as per capita consumption in India is one of the lowest in the world. Other infra-related industries like mining, power, shipping, transport and manufacturing do require positive government policies and I think that may happen only after the elections.
Q] What important learnings from the past slowdowns have you implemented so far?
The fundamentals don’t change, especially in the consumer goods space, when there is a downturn. Advertising and marketing spends are the first to get cut, which shouldn’t happen because when the upturn happens, which is inevitable, you have higher consumer awareness, use and share levels. The main learning has always been that you shouldn’t cut investments, especially in marketing.
Q] You must be keeping track of a lot of brands. what are the things that they are doing right and wrong currently?
I feel that people are not cutting investments in marketing, which is good. From the industry point of view, GST (goods and services tax) is one of the biggest things not only for the Government of India but also for the economy. There are several cascading effects of taxes, which can hamper growth. All taxes need to be combined which has been forecasted for a long time now. I think GST, whenever that happens, and its long-time coming, will prove to be anaesthetic to the health of the consumer goods industry.
‘ISA is constantly looking at ways and means to narrow the gap between CEOs in India and overseas’: Paulomi Dhawan
Q] The first Global CEO Conference on ‘Navigating a VUCA World’ has generated a lot of interest in the industry. What is the USP of this day-long event?
VUCA is a commonly used acronym, denoting the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous situation in the environment we are in. It reflects the emerging ideas, strategic leadership and decision-making processes that companies adopt during these difficult times. As responsible corporates, we need to understand the best practices of leading businesses in this VUCA world. ISA is constantly looking at ways and means to narrow the gap between CEOs in India and overseas. This Global CEO Conference will bring in some of the best thought leaders in the world under one roof, to share their invaluable experiences with everyone. The day-long sessions will reveal interesting and relevant insights from some of the sharpest minds in the business world and will prove to be a great platform for learning and debate.
Q] What is ISA’s objective in organizing an event of this scale?
For over 60 years, ISA has been representing corporate advertisers — big and small — who constitute a majority of advertisers across sectors, geographies and values. One of the key objectives of ISA is to deliver value to the advertisers and the industry at large. In doing so, we organize education and learning conferences on different subjects for industry personnel. ISA is also a founding member of the World Federation of Advertisers.
At ISA, we always believe in quality. This is our first Global CEO Conference and it will be world class! With the eminent speakers that the Global CEO Conference has attracted, it will be an immense learning for all of us, particularly considering today’s complex environment. The conference will see some of the stalwarts of corporate leadership addressing pressing issues on everyone’s mind. Some of the key topics which will be addressed are leadership styles to be adopted in VUCA times, smarter ideas, better marketing, understanding the consumer better, risk-taking, business models that can be adopted, etc.
Q] What is your take on VUCA? How do you think one should come out of this?
Business cycles have seen a tremendous change over the years. However, the pace of change has aggravated with increasing uncertainties. Hence, there is a need to gear up in order to deal with such uncertainties. On one side, there is information flux, while on the other, you have proliferation of brands. Predictions based on astute analysis, scenario planning, unbundling and looking beyond complexities will help us overcome this VUCA world. How we lead businesses in this VUCA world is what will be covered at this conference.
Q] What would be your message to the distinguished personalities attending the conference?
This Global CEO Conference offers us an opportunity to hear the thoughts, experiences and beliefs of some of the most recognized leaders in the corporate world. Let’s use this platform to learn, innovate, think differently, move ahead and tackle this VUCA world.
ABOUT THE EVENT
The Indian Society of Advertisers, in partnership with exchange4media Group, is hosting the first ever Global CEO Conference on ‘Navigating a VUCA World’ on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 in Mumbai, India. The goal of this conference is to sharply dissect the tough times we are facing in the current economic situation, and to find out how organizational processes and practices need to be recast to deliver to this new VUCA world. Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Global, will be the keynote speaker at this conference. He will share his thoughts on how responsible business models can help in VUCA times. His views on the subject are thought-provoking and widely acclaimed in the corporate world. Other speakers at the event include R Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons; Manu Anand, MD, Cadbury India; Marten Pieters, MD & CEO, Vodafone India; Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero MotoCorp and Ravi Kant, Vice Chairman, Tata Motors; Sanjay Behl, CEO (Lifestyle) Raymond; Kirthiga Reddy, Head-Facebook, India and Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, MCCS.
For more details Email emily.boral@exchange4media.com and yhkrish@insocietyad.com or visit www.exchange4media.com/ISAVUCA2013
