FUTURE SURVIVAL STRATEGIES…. LIVE WITH CHANGES YOU CANNOT STOP! ….21ST CENTURY PARADIGMS CONFUSES AND CONFOUNDS – YET ONE HAS TO LIVE WITH… a paper presented at university seminar. DR. G. BALAKRISHNAN, Company Director – GSL (India) Ltd – synthetic spinners



Power shift:

‘Terra incognita’ replaced ‘Terra Firma’ in management thinking process in 21st century world, thanks to explosion in information and implosion, as we have to work with un-chartered course of events, called ‘Exploration’ – ‘accelerated changes’ – charges from un-chartered highways without any infrastructure developments at all –money, or raw materials – fierce competition, markets turning merciless, causing rampant migrations of people seeking refuge from place to place till one reasonably settles, small organizations skillfully outsmarting big ones.

Net-work is the new buzzword and an effective tool to Nations of the world, indeed new discovery of man to sustain in the ruthless world.

Questions arise today:

- Does business is in real time or is it dead for ever?, Does it mean there is no Resuscitation - in world of uncertainties due to explosion implosion of information? May be due to, information technology and internet technology?

- Does it mean your global maps, devised on the basis of enormous distances, thanks to, internet technology have changed overnight?

- Does it mean violent transition had taken you to edges and resultant chaos?

- Does it mean old order changed to the new dispensations?

- Francis FAKUYAMA predictions that there is no communism and capitalism but it is a period of neo capitalism, like neo-rich creations, yielding from old capitalism, make you share and prepare your tomorrows’ insights to face new tomorrows every tomorrow next?


- Does it mean every day a new stimulating thought is there, to face next day, else you are dead for ever and gone for ever?

- Does your stimulating thought cause provocative or contradicting, controversial tensions, due to information and knowledge developed through words transacted leading to new work tied to non-linear thinking process of killer instinct against your competitors, in trend forecasting, global economies, management practices, business process re-engineering, info-technology, organizational learning processes, art(s) of Leadership planning, by infusing in the organization suitable inborn leaders by recruiting or create leaders by new learning processes?

- Does it mean you have no early answers, as no quick-fixes available, no one best way possible, no short cut – you are in a land scape surrounded by oceans of turbulence, capable of ever changing landscapes of your land mass?

- Does it mean you are on your own in an un-chartered way?

- Does it mean you have no universal solution, as no longer universal solutions are available?

- Does it mean you have to listen to people – specialists, laymen, customers, share holders, new investors to be, or new likely customers…?

- Does it mean you have to reflect on ‘words’ every one doles out, as each word has implications, provided you know many facets of meanings in every possible context?

- Does it mean you have to draw your own conclusions depending on your skill to interpret ‘words’?

- ….Re-define, time and again, on the basis of your understanding the voices of Vox Populi (voice of people) who determine your life and letters, and spirit of your living, on continuous basis?

- ….redefine again, climate changes in peoples’ thinking process?

- ….you are in a world determined by majority as minority rules are not sustainable at all, as your business life is at the beck and call of customers, without them you are no where?

- …. Expand your vision horizon, clarity; rethink future, as a process of conduct, which we have to go through individually?


- …Process of conduct, edit, information, every time you get it, or you give to others, due to changing psychological process?

- ….Future being uncertain, different from past experiences, you cannot rely on your past experiences even if you want, as the past gets entangled with new experiences and you just cannot decipher – continuously analyze in a non linear way – make your own deductive and inductive logics, may not be useful, but to some extent give you some signs of improvement, but not necessarily always, use permutations and combinations of inductive vis a vis deductive logics and vice versa mixes?

- ….No point in clinging to an idea of something has gone ‘wrong’ and yet cannot be fixed but yet try to fix, if you can, no doubt enormous efforts not necessarily fruitful, many a time…means you have to continuously strive to –like men who think… ‘Tough times do not last long but tough men can last longer’, as per Robert Schiller, that is how missionaries work in their tough work among all kinds of odds?

- …Never live in delusions – past is dead and will never repeat – think you have come to a dead end, and start your new exploration in a new future without any kind of infrastructure of path finder… ever get contentment with exploration an arduous task?

- …new time call for new organizing – no early drive of sedans..?

- ….Completely new organizational vehicles to go on rough and tumble pathways…say like olden days people went on pilgrimages never sure to come back? If you come back you are blessed or doubly blessed?

- …Reflect on information like a trip on ‘Chandrayan’ exploration of Moon mission by ISRO?

ROAD STOPS HERE...


- Refuse to believe future is linear but future is to be like a trophy

- Future is unbelievable as pathway is not a sure way but a tough exploration with no surety of coming back to your old position.


- No predictability at all. If it works it out work it out till it is possible and be ready to take some thing new when this one fails sooner or latter.


- Every situation gives false conclusions – like one Taliban Leader in Masud is dead or killed, next heir is no sure to succeed and possibly he will be killed due to feuds in the Taliban set up – an attrition mechanism will always surface - there is no surety Taliban organization can survive at all, even Osama Bin Laden is not going to be permanent arbiter and he would be some figure head today possibly. That is the trend of futurity. Every situation is just nebulous!

- False conclusions are sure like computer virus

- Future continuity is sure but the continuity is just as nebulous as any thing, unless you program yourself clearly in non-linear way;

- Exciting thing about future is non continuity of future everyday and every night;

- You cannot look at future with any certainty…like…boys did information technology cannot be sure of placement at all that is futuristic, though they might have spent fortune of time and money, when the fertile imagination of soft ware companies comes to a stand still.

- Like that core Engineers lost out to information technologists and it is their turn, that is the position today….business schools should redesign themselves else they will die too soon, as time and tide wait for none;

- Immigration and education elsewhere will lost out once attraction is gone for ever... see in Australia Indian students once flocked there will not touch Australia as destination, and same will happen every where and if so what will you do is to think something new avenues of new education as old education will have to yield to new;

- No more fault engineering works, in any kind of business conditions; so re-engineering –is not old whine in new bottle!

- Do not ever think that you are highly skilled and capable to tide over things is the current dispensation of 21st century. It replaces one even if he or she is not equal to you, for your talents are no longer needed, as new talent is needed to fend and oar the ship of business;

- Go out of gravitational pull theory as new pulls are operating, so be vigilant all through 24 hours, 7 days a week, any thing can happen, so governments all over totter; how your business sustain, in turbulence of complex factors operating in multi paradigm structures your business is in;

- Stop looking at future any longer as a free highway for you, as there is no high way at all, but a turbulent rough and tumble creeks, precipices, distributed and that will handle you;

- Make intellectual leap forwards in a non linear pattern sans logics and that is the new logics;

- Now network is working and work with so long as net work works, and if it fails, innovate new ways

- Be simple, prudent and flexible; Do not over spend, conserve.

- Be highly specialized, so long as that specialization is needed by people in a global economy which is attacked by serious vicissitudes of new needs;

- No longer geography has any relevance in internet world;

- Global economic battles soon will be replaced by resource battles, leading to wars, to take over new natural resources, as out sourcing is coming to an end sooner;

- Technology democratizes not just work place, but our societies and the world…everything is running towards precipices of creeks of governance in governments and businesses…major businesses will soon collapse yielding to small and compact ones! E.g. AIG, Lehman Bros, Fredies…

- Your business should be like four wheeler jeeps to take turns instantaneously;

- Four wheel drive jeeps shall be biological organisms, no more machines ;

- No more continuous improvements – as radical changes overtake and so adapt to new needs, no compromise on quality of your product;

- Task of immense proportions going through the eye of a needle, if you want stay put in any business;

- Change, change , change is the charging mechanism of this new century;

- Business transformations are real today. No pit to stop is the new shift of this century.





KEY ISSUES

-How to go about changing mental models into ones those are more systemic in nature, learn to look at the whole organization?

- What kind of role will technology play in the transformation of very business process?

- …go about creating a radically decentralized, network organization? Does federalism provide a useful model for making it work?

- What binds a network organization together – information technology or something deeper?

- How company make a shift from just spreading information about a network to build knowledge –really possible to set up a ‘learning curve- infrastructure’ – Manage internal training mechanism to help company learn new things – Make your managers as teachers…

- What principles are to guide a successful corporation to fit in today? Top management should give their people meaningful voice in the ownership and running of the organization – a high trust culture to be built up..?

- Corporation’s network being increasingly complex know the art of
Art of control... to develop bottom up control... to imitate flock of birds or swarm of bees...


- No more traditional managing concepts… any key role is at all for
Managers?. Any meaning is there for hierarchy in future?

- To be in place new shift in new management model, is a new global phenomenon? – Lead to different rates of progress in different parts of the world – may be create some new SBUs?



NEW CALL FOR ORGANIZATIONS TODAY:

- Winners to transform organization into something
resembling four wheel drive mechanism to take all terrain drive, cause lean, mean and highly maneuverable;

- To stay ahead constantly change curve, constantly redefine,, create
New markets, blaze new trails, re-invent competitive rules:

- Develop a sense of foresight where needed exceedingly.
Markets are ruthless – do not accept ‘me-too’ approaches.

- Create sustainable competitive advantages;

- No more traditional leadership – steer for on and off relevant leaders – leaders to don follower roles so too followers!


- Decentralize powers - create democratized strategies, involving a rich mixture of different people from inside and outside to reinvent future - survival is paramount;

- Leaders to visualize , a passion for excellence, an exciting aspiration, to unleash tremendous human energy, provide fuel to push the enterprise ahead in the face of competition – drive it to win the race;





- Rethink leadership strategize:

o create incentive to people to challenge challenging situations strategically;

o Company to involve in development of process, implementation strategies – senior management to involve.

o Focus strategically, break big companies to viable sizes to take on flexibly – a guerilla warfare;

o Create competitive advantage for long term effects – tactical elements to be in place;

o Balance the need for radical change for radical strategic continuity – change your competitive strategies on and off - take on emerging opportunities – ensure how to de-risk those opportunities which do not work any longer;

o Need for special kind leadership to succeed in global economy of turmoil – impact information technology on the way lead;

o Be leader of leaders a new buzz word – encourage people to be leaders at all levels of the firm;

o Cause change anchors; Create new anchors;

o Give people a purpose in life that will help them take up challenges by volition when offered;


This will help steer the ship in the new ocean called Ocean of future opportunities (ends)