British sociologist Isiah Berlin wrote a paper in 1953 titled The Hedgehog and the Fox. He was inspired by a Greek poet named Archilochus, who had written, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing”—a generalist versus a specialist. Transformation leaders should have generalist skills.
Leaders desire that the execution of their change programme be perceived as predictable and well-thought-out. In practice, semblances of order are accompanied by lots of chaos. Uncertainty is an essential part of transformation. For animals, uncertainty is a way of life. When faced with danger, both humans and animals rearrange internal resources to meet the oncoming challenge—the amygdala hijack. In general, human beings yearn for predictability, animals perhaps less so.
Take an example. Cave crickets live in extreme conditions of darkness and dampness. Cave crickets are usually eyeless and anyway, eyes are of little use in dark caves. To survive and grow, the cave cricket develops feelers, which are four times the length of their body. This enables them to feel their way around the dark cave. Imagine a human being whose legs and arms can reach out 20-25 feet!
A transforming organisation could be highly focused but muddling and adaptation are inevitable. A leader may choose to disregard views and sentiments of stakeholders but being mindful of them is important. Transformation agendas need continuous recalibration based on signals. Apart from the court of law, the court of public opinion matters. Optics are important, though they may not always dictate actions. The courts of law and public opinion may well be divergent.
A popular perception is that the US “lost” the Vietnam War. The fact is that the US lost 58,220 troops against over a million of the Viet Cong. However, the residual optics of the 1968 Tet Offensive created the lasting legend that the US lost the Vietnam War.
Nestle India lacked sensitive antennae in the early stages of the Maggi noodles crisis. Suresh Narayanan, Chairman of Nestle India, was brought in from an overseas posting. He has described, through his public presentations, how he went about setting up required antennae to feel the way forward for the company. The response packaged together both the order and chaos.
The UB Group of companies went through dramatic growth and transformation over the last 20 years. About five years ago, Kingfisher, a UB company, defaulted on repayment of bank loans. Kingfisher failed to pay salaries. Meanwhile, Vijay Mallya visibly celebrated his birthday in Goa. Technically speaking, the shareholder’s liability is limited to the share capital. Mallya was entitled to spend his personal money. The optics, however, were unfavorable. In the court of public opinion, Vijay Mallya stood condemned very early on.
The telecom industry in India underwent dramatic transformation during the last 30 years. Convulsions occurred every few years from the early Sukh Ram days to the 2G episode. The 2G controversy was settled through the long-winded process of law. However, in the court of public opinion, the UPA lost the case much earlier. Optics are important.
Farm bills were hurried through in 27 days—from introduction of the bills to presidential assent. The average time for the passage of bills is 150 days. Protagonists credibly argue that the process was legitimate because “an elected government took it through Parliament”. However, in the court of public opinion, the bills were not accepted, as evidenced by the prolonged and ongoing protests by farmers apart from the paralysis of implementation.
The Telangana government wants additional district collectors to have a Kia car to do their duties. Expenses would be `11 crore. The BJP opposes the move because of the pandemic. The optics will be important.
The BJP and protagonists have rationally argued about the essentiality of the Central Vista Project (CVP). It has even earned the approval of the court of law so far. In the court of public opinion, however, CVP is and will remain a continuing controversy. Many feel that the pandemic pains of the public make the timing of the CVP inappropriate. Could it be postponed by six months? Should the CVP be perceived as akin to a wealthy man hosting a lavish wedding in town while common people face penury and starvation?
Recall that, like the CVP, a magnificent Delhi Durbar was held three times—in 1877, 1903 and 1911. The first two were lavish coronation events of absent British monarchs; they were held while Indians faced a massive famine and thousands of citizens were in relief camps. The 1911 Durbar coincided with the launch of the Lutyens Delhi, which is, once again, at the centre of the CVP. Bengalis use an expression, hathabhaga, to describe something repeatedly unfortunate. Is the Delhi Durbar hathabhaga? Optics are an important consideration.
(The author had served as Director, Tata Sons and, before that, as Vice Chairman, Hindustan Unilever. Collaborating with entrepreneur-cum-angel investor R Narayanan, he has recently co-authored a book titled “Wisdom for start-ups from grownups”)
(rgopal@themindworks.me)