"A couple of days ago, I did a session after lunch. And in corporate parlance, it’s called the graveyard shift.Why is it called the graveyard shift?This must be the easiest question you got all day,” said the dynamic Madhav Samant at a highly interactive session at a seminar recently. The audience, largely comprised of management students, who replied with loud claps and cheers. Speaking on the topic ‘Dynamic Business World’, Samant, now Financial Controller with Vodafone, and earlier National Remuneration Manager with Hindustan Unilever Ltd., kept his audience glued to their seats with anecdotes from the corporate world. Amidst much applause and regular doses of laughter, Samant kept his audience busy with his “interactive session” promising “no gyaan”, which he said he knew “would them to death.”
He took them on a tour of his career spanning over 20 years, his experience working in different domains, changes in the role of a Chief Financial Officer over the years and advised his youthful audience how to become good managers and leaders, as he shared his views and fielded questions on the corporate world, with elan.
Vodafone Limited has been in existence in its various avatars for a little over 10-12 years. It was already a Rs 35,000 crore company when I joined. The pace of inflection and the growth of the telecom industry is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. And even now you see the way and the pace it’s growing in spite of all the call drops and the data issues you get. But that is where the difference lies.
It is an intensely competitive environment. I don’t know if you read that article on Amazon published recently about the work environment in Amazon, how stressful it is and how they keep pushing you to your limits. It is not that bad, but the overall situation is very similar. Especially in management. There are various levels in all organisations, management and non-management. In management, there are these very bright MBAs, very bright engineers, very bright people from XLRI and other places. The way they interview to select these people is an extremely tough process. And they only have people from the top leadership to interview 10-15 years of experience and more and each person they take would have the potential of becoming the chairman of the company, or the MD or CEO.
Extremely capable, extremely good at communication, all the qualities that they have in some way, they look for it in the other person and they recruit on that basis, So, when you start off,you have people who are extremely competitive. The competition, the ‘politics’ you have heard about politics in an organisation the stress, is very high. But that itself becomes, in a certain sense, addictive because it is in a very high performing culture. Even though it is a very stable business and you know it’s not like telecom, where the growth path is so much 8-9 per cent of the topline revenue growth is steady, but they keep trying to save the samething, relaunching the same thing and it becomes an extremely competitive environment. So that is what creates that culture. And then it becomes a pyramid.
Any organisation is a pyramid. The number of leadership positions keep narrowing down. Then when a person doesn’t get a position, he goes as a CFO, CEO or something in some other company. And that’s how you export manpower.
The other thing I found was a very strong business focus. This is what I want everybody to keep in mind – whether you are in finance, in HR, marketing, or any other type of function you have to maintain an extremely strong business focus.
So suppose I am in finance, I cannot say I will only do XYZ, that is the process, etc., and not bother about the business. That is not a sustaining proposition.Because ultimately, it is the top line and the bottom line which pays all our salaries. So the focus should be, how do I help the business? What is the support I can give to the business? How do I not be bureaucratic? How do I make sure that the execution is absolutely perfect? These are stuff that are extremely crucial as we go along.
When you get into your corporate career, your focus on the business has to be absolutely solid. And if there is a CEO out there, a boss out there who wants to achieve something, you in your function have to help him achieve it.
Madhav Samant, CFO, Vodafone India Services Pvt.Ltd, completed his Bachelor of Commerce from Bangalore University and Chartered Accountancy in 1991. He served in Hindustan Unilever Ltd as the National Remuneration Manager and then held the position of Financial Controller. In 2008, he joined Vodafone Essar as the Financial Controller and has been associated with Vodafone since then. Corporate Citizen caught up with Samant, backstage, where he shared his work experience and his journey of over 20 years with various organisations
It’s a slightly complex answer. Look at it from an organisational perspective. If I am the CEO, I have certain functions, I have marketing which helps me market my product, I have sales which helps me go to market, sell my product, I have HR which helps me with the people agenda, I have finance which helps me with governance, etc.Finance and HR, you will find, are what we call ‘enabling functions’ in an organisation
In any enabling function, you have an axis. Suppose you take an L on a graph, on one axis if you plot support that part of the role in which you support the business. And on the other axis you plot control. HR and finance persons have two aspects to their job one is support, the other is control. You will find finance people generally focussed on the control part of the axis
But if you plot an HR person, he will be plotted really high on the support axis. That is where the point of conflict between the two functions lies. While it is largely a theoretical answer, it is important for you to recognise this internally when you get into an HR job and say that, besides creating support on my support axis,I also need to go on the control axis and vice versa for the finance people.
People who display the following qualities irrespective of which function they are in, always stand out in an organisation.
1. Authenticity: Authenticity is being yourself. There are various facets to it. What happens is, when each one of us goes into a working environment, we put a mask. We are different people at work, we are different people at home. My submission to you is, be the same. Some amount of mask wearing is essential, but be yourself. Be yourself at work when you don’t know, say you don’t know. Say I will find out. When you make a mistake, say you made a mistake. What it does is, it builds trust. And trust is something which is in severe short supply in the corporate world.
2. Ability:Ability is something that is ingrained in you. If you are not capable people, you wouldn’t be in this room. Work on that. Keep reading. Reading is very critical. For example: If you go for an interview, based on that morning’s Economic Times, somebody might just throw a question at you: Why has China devalued the Yuan? So, read. Read on current affairs, read on management, read Harry Potter too, no problem. But your ability is very critical. Keep honing your skills.
3. Attitude: Attitude is very critical. Cynicism is a passion killer. A person who goes with a smile at work is always valued. Cynicism drains the energy out of a team, it drains the energy out of an organisation. That is why you guys within your functions have to find something that interests you and go for that interest.
4. Adaptability:All of us are from diverse backgrounds, diverse geographies, and diverse locations. Be adaptable to an organisation, to its culture, sync in, understand what that culture is talking about, etc
5. Value addition: A company is paying you Rs 100. How much are you giving back? Are you giving 100, are you giving 150 or are you giving 50. If the company sees you are giving it more than what it’s giving you, your career path will point upwards. At the end of the day, it is about value addition and about results.
Always be optimistic. Never give up even if you fail. Persistence is equally important. Always be enthusiastic about your job, and your role. Going to work on a Monday morning should not be a big chore
Let me talk about the supply chain in two contexts. One, the supply chain in FMCG which is a no-brainer. You have to have raw materials, production, finished products all the way to the villages and rural markets in India. It’s a much more complex supply chain mechanism than in telecom. In a telecom company purpose, supply chain is not that tricky a function. It’s basically got to do with getting capex, then you get BTSs, you have to arrange the towers. As they say, ICICI is a bank built on an IT company. Similarly, all these telecom companies are telecom networks built on IT. The entire backbone is technology and servers. It is not that complex
Strategy is a much abused word these days. What is strategy? Let me answer it in a different way. Think about title about this particular session: Dynamic Business World. Now I want to introduce to you the concept of VUCA. Here, strategy has no place. The world today is that sort of a world: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA). So if you have a strategy to handle a VUCA world, it’s an oxymoron. You can’t have a long-term strategy to handle a VUCA world. For example, we draw financial plans. This is a huge exercise that starts in October and is supposed to be the financial plan for the next financial year, April to March. But before it is December, before the ink has even dried on that plan, everything has changed.
So instead of a strategy partner, I would propose a different term called ‘business partner’. In finance, in HR, you have to be a business partner. That’s why I keep stressing on the point that both HR, finance have to assist in achieving the company’s business goals.
Old ways are out, new approaches are needed in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business world. But some rules stay evergreen...
There has been a lot of change in the past 10-15 years. It’s been a positive change with high speed work, lots of information, higher expectations and even higher stress levels. This is because the information level is high, the speed is high, the business pressure has considerable gone up in the last 15-20 years
In those days, it was a challenge of growth, challenge of information, challenge of technical capabilities. These days, it’s a challenge of over-information, it’s a challenge of dealing with so many external stimuli, which ones to react to, which ones to not react to...it’s a challenge of an uncertain and complex world. In the last few years, the challenges have only grown. The corporate world has become extremely demanding in terms of time. Your accessibility to the company has to be almost 24x7, and demand has risen in terms of competency. In India, even if you take some time off, you will still be hooked to your laptop, checking mails. Here, unlike the west, if you don’t respond to mails, it’s not taken well. However, that is changing slowly but it will take time
Of course, they are. See, the earlier generation grew up under an environment of scarcity; jobs were scarce, opportunities were scarce, educational opportunities were scarce too. I am not saying there is no such scarcity now but there are a lot more opportunities today. The country has grown, a lot of multinational companies have come up. Today, they are huge in number. And this whole business of working outside India has created a lot of business opportunities in India. This is because we do a lot of stuff in India. For example, we do a lot of R&D for Google here, we do R&D for Intel here in India. Similarly for so many companies, we do R&D here in India and that gives our people a chance
Not necessarily. Indians go abroad to study and then start working there. And if you see, due to the ethos and middle-class values that Indians get here, they work harder there. They are more committed and these are values that are appreciated by western countries, which is why they do well there.
I happened to come to HR as that was the only option open to me then. I was in Singapore and wanted to come back home. So they (HUL) said you want to come to HR, I said fine. But it did give me an opportunity to see something else and experience something different
Not much. Not too challenging. It was a numbers job largely. But yes, it was good. And then I went back to finance.
The challenges are of cultural compatibility. We should make sure we adapt to the culture of various countries. The second is acceptance of diversity: gender diversity, geographical diversity, economical diversity. They have to be open to that. And the younger generation is much more open to diversity today. For example, we have a lot more women in leadership positions working, though the number is not enough. In Vodafone, diversity is a huge agenda. A lot of work is going on in this area
Firstly, it was not hardcore HR. There I was in the position of the National Remuneration Manager. And that had to do with fixing the compensation of managers across HUL. I used to go to Colgate, ITC, Nestle to find out what they are paying to an MBA with five years of experience in a marketing role to make sure the salaries at HUL was not too below or not too above the benchmark. And there’s a reason why they had a finance person in that role. It was a numbers job. HR people are intrinsically uncomfortable with numbers. And by numbers, I don’t mean manpower, I mean tax, finance, etc. They used to have a finance person as a Reward Manager. The person would take control of the rewards that were to be paid across the organisation. And that’s what I was doing. But after I went out, they got a reward specialist. There are such people in HR who are reward specialists.
I might be mistaken, but Vodafone does not have 4G spectrum. It was some time ago, when 4G spectrum was available as an option. Spectrum is a certain band. There were various people who bid and procured that spectrum. In the Vodafone business case, though I was not closely associated with it, let me explain. Let’s say you buy spectrum. Let’s assume you pay Rs 2000 crore for 5 MGHZ. When you pay Rs 2000 crore, you have to monetize that spectrum. You have to start generating revenue from it. It was thought I don’t know if it’s true any longer -- that the advent of 4G devices in this country would not be very fast. And hence, some people bid for 4G spectrum, some didn’t. Vodafone, as of now,does not have 4G spectrum
When you get into your corporate career, your focus on the business has to be absolutely solid. And if there is a CEO out there, a boss out there who wants to achieve something, you in your function have to help him achieve it
Always be optimistic. Dont give up even if you fail. You should always keep trying. Persistence is equally important. Always be enthusiastic about your job, your role, any task at hand. And, like what you do. Going to work on a Monday morning should not be a big chore. Another thing is don’t criticise or crib. Cynicism is one of the biggest killers of any corporate entity and of a team. As it is, the work pressure is high. Don’t be cynical. If you don’t like it, get out. People who are there should give their 100 per cent. Students preparing for the corporate world need not worry much about the working environment. Remember, even the biggest of bosses today started off exactly the same way as you would, with the same concerns, same anxiety and worries. It all depends on how quickly you learn, how well you adapt, and progress. All that is the differentiator. Some people adapt quickly, some take time. But everybody is capable. Also, be well read and proactive
There are two concepts: One is CAGR—Compounded Aggregate Growth Rate. The compound interest is very high in PF. You get interest on your accumulation. By the time it is 15-20 years, you get quite a bit of a corpus at the end.
The other important aspect is ‘tax-free’, which is a huge benefit from that point of view. But why 8-12, frankly I don’t know.
With a lot of multinational's coming in, all of you, at some stage or the other, will have to deal with westerners like the Americans, Europeans, etc. There are certain things that I have noted over the past 20 odd years, which, if we don’t follow, irritates them a lot. They are from a different culture, we are from a different culture. We may not conform to their culture but it helps to understand what these differences are and make sure we interact with them in a manner that helps everybody. We should help in getting that engagement to be more fruitful, build a little more trust. Here are some pointers:
1.We Indians talk a lot. And we talk when another person is talking. When I am conversing with you, even before I finish my sentence, something comes back from the other side. That irritates them a lot. You may notice that when you talk, Europeans never interrupt. They wait for you to finish, and then speak. Similarly, you ought to wait for them to finish. We Indians, our minds work so fast we know what that person will say before he has finished his sentence. And that’s why we interrupt. So wait for a sentence to be finished before you respond.
2.Speak slowly. Indians generally speak very fast. If he is British, he will understand. But if he is French or Italian or a Portuguese, it will be very difficult for him to understand your speech.
3.Never be late for meetings. It is seen as a sign of inefficiency and non-planning. Punctuality is important. And more importantly, if it’s a meeting from 10-10.30, they finish at 10.30. They are extremely methodical. We are not. For them, it is very critical to start and finish at the said time.
4. During an interaction, unless you know the person really well, lean on the side of formality. Generally in European culture, and especially the Germans, the French and the British are not very informal, as opposed to the Americans. Americans and Canadians don’t mind a little bit of informality. First names are okay, but dressing informally or formally is important.
5.The other important thing in all western cultures especially European, is that they value personal time extremely highly. So, for example, if the business hours are from 9-6.30, calls after 6.30-7 o’clock are not seen favourably. It is not taken to mean that you are working very hard. In India, bosses will call at 8 o’clock, they will call you on Saturday at 2 o’clock, Sunday 11 o’clock, and you are supposed to pick up the phone and answer. That is not acceptable with Europeans. Once they are finished with their day, they don’t appreciate calls, unless it’s an emergency. Their personal time is valued. I would urge that you too value your personal time, but in the Indian context and work culture, we just call up any time in the night or day and the poor person is supposed to pick up the phone.
6. There are also strange differences in culture among Europeans. For example, a British person will be different from a Dutch person. When a Dutch person wants to say No, he will just say No, I don’t agree. But if a British person wants to say No, he will say “can’t you think differently?” He will not say No directly. A Dutch and A German person will say No directly: ‘No I don’t agree with you.’ Or, ‘This is not the point I agree.’ And then Indians are taken a little aback because we are not used to that sort of frankness in a business context. A British person is typical. If not for nothing, they have ruled our country for 200 years, they will say it in a more diplomatic manner.
By MADHAV SAMANT
