Team Management: The First Principle

In Hindu epic Ramayana, lord Rama wanted his army to cross over ocean to go to Lanka. He worshipped Varuna, the lord of ocean to give them the way. It didn’t work as Varuna was not pleased. Rama became furious, lifted his bow and aimed at sea with his divine weapons with powers enough to dry up the ocean. Then Varuna appeared and told lord Rama that his act will destroy the sea-life and its ecosystem. He told Rama, that a vaanara (monkey) in his army with name Nala (who was son of Vishwakarma, the architects of gods) has expertise to build the bridge. Finally, with the help of Nala, the fabled Ram-Setu (bridge) was build.

The above snippet from Ramayana seems a known story. Shift to the corporate world.

Can you recall, a classic interview question (even if it’s is not asked we are ready for it with answers) - What are your key strengths?

Times fly, candidate is part of our team, do we still remember his background, skills and strengths?

What about your subordinates in an organization who you get as legacy once you join it.

Remember…. you are not Lord Rama!

So, the first principle of team management - It is critical to know your team and their strengths first to get the best out of them. 

In case you got team in your new assignment, take your time, ask your human resources department  to give their resume and have an informal discussion with them to know them better.

As with mundane work-life later you may not even remember that you have Nala in your team….

Playing to win, How Strategy really works

Playing to Win, How Strategy Really Works by A G Lafley and Roger Martin

Harvard Business Publishing

You talk of mass market FMCG products in India, probably Unilever (formerly Hindustan Lever Limited) will come in your mind. But when you add quality to this mass market segment, no one can beat an organization like P&G particularly in markets such as US and China. The addition of Gillette have made the brand portfolio of P&G even stronger.

Strategy per se is one of the often most misused concept in business context. Every action plan as trivial as market visit can be put into words such as Lets have strategy for tomorrow’s market visit… However, while  everyone talks of the B-word, there are few organization capable of cultivating a strategic thinking and building culture. While traditional strategy implementation starts at top and get diffused at bottom, the story of P&G and its winning framework have been captured in a very lucid manner.

The simple framework of defining winning aspirations, where to play, How to win, Building core capabilities and management systems is defined with a strategic logic flow which is crucial in the current context where the challenge lies in putting different pieces together. The framework is explained in detail in context of P&G brands. Though the framework talks of basics such as understanding the customer and channels, building core capabilities – differentiation or cost leadership, managing systems, brand building and category development, in practical business scenario it is a humongous task and require discipline, skills, knowledge and investment.

From a respected legendary business leader A G Lafley along with the expertise of Roger Martin, the book reflects the thoughts of Peter Drucker as pivotal and makes it a must read for every student of strategy.

Best regards

Sunil Singh Rana