India: A Defining Choice for Your Business
A presentation by Ravi Venkatesan. This event is jointly presented with the HBS Club of Puget Sound. There is no RSVP required. Monday, October 21 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm | Baker Room of Building 33 at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond.
No charge, open to all. Monday, October 21 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm in the Baker Room of Building 33 in the Microsoft Campus in Redmond.
India is on the minds of business leaders everywhere. Within a few decades, India will be the world's most populous nation and one of it's largest economies. But it is also a complex and challenging market, with a reputation for corruption, uncertainty, and stultifying bureaucracy. A slowing economy and a swooning currency have forced the government to re-impose controls to curb capital flight. It is clear that the initial infatuation with India is over. But India is not a market that can be ignored. So why take a chance in this extraordinary and complex region? What does it take to win in India? How do you deal with the chaos -- and even prosper from it?
Ravi Venkatesan, the former Chairman of Microsoft India, offers inside advice on how your firm can overcome the unique challenges of the Indian market. He argues that chaotic India is in fact an archetype for most emerging markets, many of which present similar challenges but not the same potential. Succeeding in India therefore becomes a litmus test for your ability to succeed in other emerging markets. If you can win in India, you can win everywhere.
Hard as these markets are, Venkatesan says, for most multinational firms the bigger challenge to success in emerging markets may well be the internal culture and mind-set at headquarters. The unwillingness to make a long-term commitment to the new market or to adequately trust local leadership, combined with the propensity to rigidly replicate the products, business models, and operating systems that have worked at home drives many companies to a "midway trap" that results in India remaining an irrelevantly small contributor to global growth and profits.
Combining his personal experience with in-depth research and interviews with CEOs and senior leaders at dozens of companies -- including Nokia, GE, JCB, Dell, Honeywell, Volvo, Bosch, Deere, Unilever, and Nestle -- Venkatesan shows you how to tackle slowing growth, policy uncertainty, and corruption and enable your firm to thrive in India. He proves that you can break through successfully, but it takes a very different type of leadership, both locally and at headquarters.
If you want to succeed in the twenty-first century, you must succeed in emerging markets. This practical book, written by one of India's most respected CEOs, will give you the keys to win in India, other emerging markets, and beyond.
"It would be hard to find a more passionate advocate for doing business in India than Ravi Venkatesan." — Heather Timmons, The NewYork Times
“With a combination of personal experience and an impressive Rolodex, he has an unparalleled string of case studies to hand in Conquering the Chaos.” — The Financial Times
“Few corporate chieftains in India bother to step back and think analytically about the business landscape, and Mr. Venkatesan's account brims with interesting anecdotes and useful insights.” — The Wall Street Journal
Bill Gates, Chairman and cofounder, Microsoft— “Ravi Venkatesan’s clear and candid look at doing business in India should be on the reading list of any business leader who wants to better understand India and other emerging markets. Conquering the Chaos is insightful and thoroughly readable.”
Dominic Barton, Managing Director, McKinsey & Company— “Ravi Venkatesan has written a compelling account of how to create value in India in ways that can also be transferred to many other markets. He provides a unique and practical perspective on how to execute on the promise of emerging markets—even in tough times—through deep research on several companies and rich insights from his own leadership of Microsoft and Cummins in India.”
Ravi Venkatesan's bio: www.about.me/rvenk
For more information contact: hbsps@qwestoffice.net