Anjan Lahiri, President of IT Services at MindTree inaugurates 15th batch of PGSEM

On May 25, 2012, the fifteenth batch of Post Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) was inaugurated. Mr. Anjan Lahiri, President of IT Services at MindTree was the Chief Guest this year and delivered the keynote address. PGSEM, started in the year 1998 is a general management program offered exclusively to IT professionals. The incoming batch represents participants from 30+ companies and professional experience ranging from 2-15 years. The inauguration was followed by a guest lecture by Mr. Mansoor Khan on his topic Peak Oil and End of Growth – The Third Curve. Watch out for another post on what we heard from him. Orientation for the incoming batch was for three days which included ice breakers, industry talks, faculty sessions, sports and more fun. 

Mr. Anjan discussed the topic - ‘Challenges of managing LOW growth for the Indian software industry’. He shared his views on why Indian software industry may not grow in the pace it had grown and what can mid-level professionals in the industry can do to manage their career in this ‘low’ growth industry. He started off with data which cannot be disputed to show how much Indian Software Industry has achieved. From a modest beginning of $2 bn dollars in the late 90’s; it has now grown into a $70 bn industry. Anjan put some comparisons in place to make us think what each of this ‘billion’ figures mean. He opined that India’s success in IT industry was the major factor in helping out an Indian professional to stand out in the global stage. McKinsey and NASSCOM are expecting the industry to grow to $250 bn by 2020. He didn’t contest these figures and in fact agreed that we can expect such growths going forward. But will this growth rate reflect the same for a mid-career professional in the industry? – His view was NO. He backed his view with solid quantitative analysis comparing the growth of the industry from $2B in 1999 to the present figure of $70B. This had CAGR of 30%. This means we had the opportunity to grow professionals also at a rate of 30% or more of personal growth. But if we consider the growth to $250B in 2020 – it indicates a YoY growth of 15%. Considering that there will be new domains to look for growth, the actual growth rate relevant to the current leadership will be even lesser which could be dismal. 

Now, if that is the case – what can a mid-career IT professional like a PGSEMer do? 

Mr. Anjan had his guidance. In his view, the concept of senior managers and what is expected out of them will change. Due to the accelerated growth the services industry witnessed, the responsibilities of senior managers got limited to serving the needs of employees and team members – forgetting customer. Utilization, attrition and billing captured prominence losing customer from the picture. In the nascent stages of the industry, experience means more capability to solve customer problems. Even the senior most professional was billed and customers were ready to pay for his experience. But this is not the case today. Anjan discussed the contemporary paradigm of ‘The New Normal’. 

“The new normal for managing one’s career is that we should consciously remember that we are in the services industry in which we have to directly deliver value to the customer. Not support someone who delivers value, not manage someone who delivers value, not facilitate, encourage, enable -- but directly deliver value.” 

So how can we keep us relevant? 

A low growth means reduced number of requirements for General Managers. Anjan opined that however good ‘general management’ capabilities are even scarcer. Hence the requirement can come down even more. Mr. Anjan shared four guiding principles to tackle this challenge. 

1. Think externally – Think about the customer and provide direct value to them. 

2. Don't get into the delusion of management – Management, except at the highest level, is a support function in a services company. 

3. New responsibilities will no longer just come to you – With growth opportunities just came to you in the past. Now it will not 

4. Customer must want to pay for your time – If not, you are not relevant to either the customer or to your own people 

Mr. Anjan urged the incoming batch to come out of the ‘senior’ delusion and reflect on "what do we not know?” to stay relevant and proper in this industry. He wished every success to the incoming batch for enrolling in this program to embark on the journey of exploring ‘what you don't know’!! 

It was indeed a privilege and a wonderful opportunity for us to hear and interact with Anjan and on behalf of the PGSEM community; we thank him for taking time from his hectic schedule and addressing PGSEMers.

The Surge Coming Through - Harsh Manglik meets entrepreneurs, inaugurates latest IIMB PGSEM batch.

On 28, May 2010, IIM Bangalore inaugurated the PGSEM batch of 2010, the 13th batch of this prestigious executive general management education programme offered exclusively to the professionals in the IT sector in India. Mr. Harsh Manglik, Chairman of NASSCOM Executive Committee, was the chief guest for the event.

Harsh Manglik, Chairman NASSCOM addressed the PGSEM incoming batch during his keynote speech.

He expressed pleasure at being able to speak at IIM Bangalore which he talked of as a privilege. He congratulated the newcomers on their attainments and capabilities and wished them success on their future journey.

He mentioned in no uncertain terms the fact that the participants coming in from the IT industry at this point in time from India were in a way born at the right time, as this industry was a very good bet. He went on to speak on India, the Indian IT sector and his perspectives on leadership, which is and will be key to shaping up other people’s future.

Entrepreneurs from PGSEM interacting with NASSCOM Chairman Harsh Manglik at IIM Bangalore.

The Indian culture has been 3500 years old (the Saraswati Valley civilization) he said and has a long history which means there has been continuity in the thought and traditions of our sub continent, but India as a nation is relatively younger. It actually has the youngest population (with a median age of 23.9). He talked of the young people propelling growth as:

“The surge coming through”

There is immense possibility, however no guarantees! Inclusion in economic growth and that being the basis for a stable society is one big challenge that needs to be addressed. India he used the term can be a ‘terrific laboratory’ for new models, and application areas. From remote learning and diagnostics to technologies paving the path for telemedicine and national health initiatives; it would be one great place for enablement, once these initiatives gain critical mass.

However he said several problems stare us in our face, including drug resistance viruses, metabolic disorders, one of the largest numbers of diabetes cases etc due to genetic propensity among other issues.

Indian IT industry - Unbelievable forecasts coming true

Moving on to the Indian IT industry he said that forecasts which were once laughed upon have come true. The Indian IT industry reached a size of almost USD 50 billion in 2009 and is expected to hit USD 175 billion in revenues by 2020 as per conservative estimates based on a joint NASSCOM-McKinsey study. Several scenarios were studied, and higher estimates place this revenue figure at up to USD 225 billion.

So the grasp of the drivers for this growth will be essential. The government needs to enable the infrastructure provisions and see this as a competition between nations and not just between companies. It has to attract more investments and for this a healthy industry is absolutely important and not the notions that now the IT industry can be weaned off the ‘milk bottle’.

He stressed that although there are no entitlements or guarantees, the interaction and competition between states as happens among states in the US will only help fuel further growth.

80% of the growth would come from areas such as engineering services, over the lifecycle of critical components on aircrafts and automobile manufacturing and also from telecom, health, medical technology, medical records, telemedicine etc. It was heartening to see 600 plus startups from India in the NASSCOM Product Conclave 2009 he reiterated.

Leadership – There is no right formula

On the leadership aspect Mr Manglik says there is no right formula. Leaders are different from managers. The knowledge of ‘who you are’ is very essential as much as being rooted in that foundation and being capable of inspiring others. Being unique, there has to be an ability to unite people and be audacious in thinking. Exceptional ability is to be aligned with the aspirations of the people for which he cited Mahatma Gandhi as one role model who could do all of this!

Gandhi’s Truth a psychoanalysts’s account of Gandhiji was a book recommended by Mr Manglik.

Being personally accountable is one great trait of a leader he said. Good people need moorings and encouragements, so they have to be handled well by leaders.

The tale of the damaged car and a confession!

He narrated a personal anecdote when he was a 12 year old wherein he swapped seat with his driver and tried to drive a car; however this resulted in his car getting damaged. He concocted a story for his parents that a speeding auto had hit them on their way but his mother figured out that he had been lying and asked him to confess to his father. This although an extremely difficult thing to do, taught him lessons early on in life. A sense of values, being truthful as a leader to build credibility is essential.

Both the Heart and the Intellect need to be engaged.

Finding purpose as oft repeated is essential, in addition to just creating economic value – Bill and Melinda Gates foundation’s activities are laudable in this regards he said. Nothing prevents you from doing more. Leaders need to be sensitive to the dynamics; understand people and how they are responding at every stage. He mentioned the Shahrukh Khan starrer ‘Chak De India’ as a good example of converting a dysfunctional team into one that is a winner.

At the end of his speech he talked about a talk that he gave to young Muslim women at Hyderabad. These women as a trend were barred from studies on reaching puberty and were expected to wait for wedding and this trend was highly prevalent. An NGO along with Accenture sought to reverse the trend, and found that providing a good income stream to these women brought about a dynamic change. They were given computer based animation training and then job opportunities. Addressing these women Mr Manglik told them that the 5 things to worry about and focus on were:

Sapne (Dreams) – strive to reach out, and nurture your dreams so as to convert them to reality

Himmat (Courage) – Essential to convert dreams to reality, abelief in yourself - it is the causal link between cause and effect.

Tapasya (steadfast application) - This helps overcome the moments of despair and helps you connect to the core.

Humdardi (Empathy) – Understanding those whom you lead

Imaan (Integrity)

These he said was as much relevant to the students of elite institutions such as IIMs as to the women at the training centre.

Chairman PGSEM, Prof N M Agarwal and Director IIMB, Prof Pankaj Chandra also welcomed the students.

Prof Chandra mentioned that the PGSEMers contribute at work and find meaning through academics, which proves their mettle. IIM Bangalore is about more resources and also a larger network than just the program. The challenging and exciting campus happenings which will change their point of view, were highlighted. He stressed that the God is in the details and to imbibe this mindset. The prize awaiting India was the 25 years in which poverty can be eliminated from India. He stressed that the people from IT background strengthen the IT field further.

The PGSEM student community that is acclaimed for creating entrepreneurs showcased their new ventures in an interactive session with Mr. Manglik. The ventures presented were:

Adaptive Marketing (www.adaptivemarketing.in)

Adaptive Marketing creates next generation product management and marketing professionals, critical catalysts for the fast growing IT product ecosystem in India.

“Enabling aspiring, new and existing PM/PMMs with pragmatic methodologies and field tested best practices, is critical as MNCs in India look at augmenting their technical execution with business focus and as Indian products go global..” said Vishwanathan who decided to cofound the venture with other industry veterans.

vRideAlong (www.vridealong.com)

vRideAlong aims to provide a convenient, reliable and secure ride-sharing solution for multiple avenues.

Parashar Shah, co-founder said, “Access to information anytime and anywhere and finding the best ride share partner is our motto. We want to make ridesharing convenient to people even with flexible work schedules. We want to help organizations reduce parking problems and carbon footprint.”

Dhonuk (www.dhonuk.com)

Dhonuk was formed as part of a cultural entrepreneurship initiative by a couple of IIM Bangalore students and an artist. In essence Dhonuk is a unique online art ecosystem with an in-built social network that enables art content from member artists to be showcased and made saleable. It also provides art lovers and art connoisseurs the unique experience of interacting with artists, buying readymade artwork or getting customized artwork created at affordable rates from young and budding artists in easily useable formats. 

MeshLabs (www.meshlabsinc.com)

“We develop innovative enterprise software products to solve complex information management, research, business intelligence, and regulatory compliance problems across several industries” said Shantanu co-founder. Incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore the company builds advanced solutions built using emerging trends in text analytics, semantics, natural language processing, business intelligence, and enterprise social computing.

The PGSEM endeavors to provide the most current executive general management education to middle and senior professionals of the software and information technology industry who seek to pursue a career in management. The programme aims to transform professionals with strong technical knowledge to business leaders with equally strong management knowledge and a global perspective. IIMB is proud to have partnered the Indian software and information technology industry on its journey to becoming a dominant force in the global market.

Originally posted here: http://shamitb.blogspot.com/