Nano Car – the power of foresight

Following lines are taken from Power of foresight, a fine article on foresight of leadership.

"It is essential that leaders are endowed with foresight as it has the power and potential of transforming the industry. In the absence of which, the organization is deprived of opportunity of having a peep at the future even before it actually arrives and reaching there ahead of the competition would certainly be missed. In other words opportunity to create market leadership position in the future is lost. Leaders with foresight can put their organization ahead of competition by changing the very basis of competition and thus charting a path for transforming the industry."

As I was reading the article, I could not help thinking of Nano project of the Tatas.

Power of foresight was exemplified by the Nano project. Ratan Tata’s decision to embark on the challenge of providing the most affordable one Lakh car for the typical Indian middle class was not just another business decision. It is in fact leadership foresight at its best. This “affordable, all whether transport” would not only give other small cars a run for their money but also will compete with two wheelers which served as family transport for typical urban and rural middle class in India.

He generated an all round curiosity about the project by promising the Indians of 1 Lakh car. Time and again, he repeated his promise with a reassurance that come what may, a promise is a promise and would be kept even in the face of odds such as moving his factory midway from Singur and rising costs.

A great innovation from India, which promises to change the way business is done or thought of for two wheelers and low end cars.

The second sigmoid

Long time back I happened to read a book called The Empty Raincoat by Charles Handy. Here I share with you a thought from the book – “An ‘S’ shaped curve” called sigmoid curve. Sigmoid curve epitomizes the story of product life cycle, organization’s life and even our own lives. We start with faltering steps before rising to the heights and then the downfall.

Secret of sustained success lies in ensuring a series of successive sigmoid curves even before the earlier ones fade out. Organizations that sustain their performance over long periods have managed to put themselves on to the second sigmoid when they were at point A along the first sigmoid. The unequivocal message from the curve is that organizations require leaders who when at point A can see the future and embark on the change programme to take the organization on to the second sigmoid curve.

Those few organizations that have the foresight to move on to the second sigmoid have to face challenging time depicted by the entrapped area between the two curves. This typically is the period when change is actually happening. There is change in all related facets of organizational life be it leadership, strategy, culture or technology. This is where the implementation capability and discipline of execution of leadership comes to the fore.

Though most of the times it is only at point B that leaders see the urgency to change and by then it usually is too late.

I found this curve to be a great leadership lesson and have seen it happen in organizations some of whom made it to point C and many others to B. Personally too, I found this curve an inspiration to focus on my long term goals and take on the second curve at the right time to reach there.