The underlying theme of Prerena 2007 – ‘From Concept to Creation: India’s Journey’ was highlighted by each of the dignitaries, and experiences of how they transformed their companies using creativity.
Mr Hiranandani started the session with an advice for the youth – “Do better than the best.” He emphasized the role of housing in Mumbai, and the opportunities for the youth in a crisp manner. He said, 30 Years ago, Mumbai had a population of 7 Mn, with 33 % of its citizens in slums. But today, Mumbai has a population of 14 Mn, with 66 % of its citizens in slums. The British built the Western, Central and Harbor Lines for Mumbai – but no new trains have been introduced in 60 years. He quoted the examples of his own children to showcase the audience the power of youth. Thus, Mr Hiranandani reiterated that by being innovative – youth can achieve success never thought by the previous generations.
On the same lines, Mr Jeh Wadia highlighted his journey from a manager in Bombay Dyeing to MD, Go-Air. Highlighting the journey of Wadia enterprises from ship building in 17th century to the present day, highlighting the need to innovate and stay ahead of competitors. He quoted his experiences during his teenage days, when he started working at a car dealership in England, and learnt the value of money by observing the customers at the dealership. He also spoke about just one experience- which ignited the spark in him to start Go-Air and transform the Indian Aviation industry. He said he used to travel from Mumbai to Chitrakoot, a place in Madhya Pradesh, in his personal Jet. One day, he decided to take a train instead. It took him 27 Hours, and the pathetic conditions on the train- the dirty toilets, discomfort forced him to think about the needs of the masses for a comfortable- yet economical mode of transport. Thus, Go-Air was born.
Mr Wadia attributed the success of Go-Air to team-work and his quotes for the youth were that they should try something new & innovate, understand the entire Food Chain and not just any particular department, and academia teaches us theory but it is up to us to put that into practice.
Mr Ganesh Natrajan rightly summed up the development of India so far as, “Every Generation of India has surpassed its past.” He highlighted how, from being the grandson of an ordinary school teacher in Tamil Nadu, had become a CEO- his father, who had struggled to bring them up could never imagine. Mr Natrajan highlighted the role of IT in India, which has grown 10 fold in one decade.
He gave the classic example of innovation of the site makemytrip.com, which has led to the elimination of travel agents and made online, 24 hrs booking a reality in India.
Mr Natrajan ended his session with a classic example of how the Chinese want to emulate the Indian IT industry. He said a delegation from Shanghai had met him some time back, and had set up an IT park in China, with 47 buildings, and promising them no taxes and free power etc for years to come. Upon enquiring about the reasons for doing so, the Chinese delegation promised her to take better care than the Indian Government.
Ms Anu Aga highlighted the role of interpreneurship, in which employees come up with ideas, and the organization funds the ideas. She highlighted how Thermax has a non-hierarchical structure, and how it has fostered innovation. At the same time, how it led to inefficiencies, and thus leading to performance based schemes being introduced in Thermax – thus highlighting the importance of discipline.
Highlighting the journey of Thermax, she highlighted how Thermax had pulled itself from losses about a few years ago, “ Frog in the boiling water syndrome, where a frog is put in water , and boiled slowly – the frog does not realize its boiling till it’s too late.”
She further highlighted the problems a women still has to face in the corporate world, in a male-dominated society.