"I shall pass this way but once.
Therefore any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can show, let me do it
now for I shall not pass this way again." — William Penn
When I received mail from thinkers 50 I
was overwhelmed to find the listing of management thinkers coming from
relatively younger age group as well. The entry of Gen X into the list excited
me and made me think there can be young management gurus as well. Usually there
is an impression that the top management thinkers are highly experienced and
fall in the bracket of Baby Boomers. Hence, the 2011 list of Thinkers50
debunked the myth that age is not a deterrent to achieve global management guru
status.
What
is Thinkers 50?
The Thinkers 50 ranks the most
important living management thinkers alive today. Stuart Crainer authored a
book titled, The Thinkers 50: The World's
Most Influential Business Writers and Leaders. It periodically conducts
voting of various global thought leaders based on certain parameters who
contributed to the management field. The thought leaders could be educators,
economists, authors, executives, consultants, social scientists and scholars.
People who voted showed interest
towards younger lot sending Baby boomers Stephen Covey from 29 to 47 and Tom
Peters from 19 to 24 positions. However, there is senior lot whose rank rose up
such as Vijay Govindarajan from 24 to 3, Marshall Goldsmith 14 to 7, Dave
Ulrich from 31 to 23 to name a few. The
list also indicates mushrooming Indian management thinkers such as Nitin Nohria
(Ranked 13), Dean of Harvard Business School, Nirmalya Kumar, Pankaj Ghemawat,
Vineet Nayar, Rakesh Khurana, Sheena Iyengar, and Subir Chowdhury.
Previously there were four Indians
found place in the list heading CK Prahalad in number one position, Ram Charan
at No. 22, Viay Govindarajan at No. 23 and Rakesh Khurana at No. 45. It is
exciting to note that the in the current list the number of Indian management
thinkers have doubled. They are making their presence well. They are being
accepted globally and recognized for their contributions to management. However, it is unfortunate that Ram Charan is
missing from the list.
Guru
Criteria
The criteria for management gurus’
status are that their presence as gurus and impact of their ideas across the
world, presence on the academia and corporate world, charisma with
international exposure and visibility. Their research background, any exclusive
contribution to the domain of management and, above all, the number of Google
hits indicates their popularity. The guru must ideally blend either academic or
industry background with extra ordinary contribution towards management field
through research and innovation. Those who crave for international attention
must slog hard with a passion to make a difference to society and that
catapults them to the top. For instance, Vijay Govindarajan’s innovation and
his concept of ‘Housing for Poor @ $300’ put him on the international map. Remember
it is always the cream that comes to the top. The list changes every year with
the entry of new gurus who contribute unique research in the area of
management.
The Thinkers50 must also come out with
life time achievement for one living Management Guru every time. I am sure it inspires others and contributes
to the cause of management as there is no Nobel Prize for management
discipline.
Challenges
for Gurus
The gurus should not take their
rankings for granted. They must learn and grow continuously with humility. They
must become more responsible to deliver their services to make a difference in
the lives of others. Above all, they must pave the way for other upcoming gurus
graciously before being pushed away by next generation gurus.
Indians
Appetite for Management
The list clearly reveals the growing
Indian management gurus shining after crossing the seas. We cannot find any
Indian working currently in India excelling as guru except Vineet Nayar who has
been ranked 40. Probably one of the reasons is that the gurus have better
research facilities, academic ambience, exposure, network and plenty of
opportunities without any prejudices. In
addition, most of them work in prestigious global business schools. Hence, if the same conditions prevail in
Indian business schools we can find more Indian management gurus growing from
native land as well. Government must
realize that there is huge potential among Indian management faculty but
lacking certain infrastructural and research facilities. If the same is
provided we can find more Indian management gurus growing from Indian business
schools and Indian soil than in an alien soil.
The list also shows the growing
appetite among Indian management thinkers as global management gurus through
their research and contributions. When
you look at Vijay Govindarajan who is popularly called VG globally, he is
specialized in innovation. His three box
approach written along with Chris Trimble is very popular and published in
Harvard Business Review titled, “The CEO’s Role in Business Model Reinvention”
urging forward-looking CEOs to manage reinvention with a “three-box approach”.
This approach emphasizes on managing the present (box!1), selectively
forgetting the past (box!2), and creating the future (box!3). Leaders need to
operate in all three boxes simultaneously to achieve the desired organizational
outcomes.
Nitin Nohria made all Indians proud by
becoming the first Indian to head as the dean of prestigious Harvard Business
School. VG also made Indians proud through his contribution in the area of
innovation and standing in 3rd place as a management guru. Other Indians such
as Nirmalya Kumar, Pankaj Ghemawat, Vineet Nayar, Rakesh Khurana, and Subir
Chowdhury have equally made all Indians proud through their contributions.
Studies reveal that most of the top
business schools in the world have faculty members from Indian origin. It shows
the strength of Indians and their acceptance globally in the area of
management. Previously it was in science and technology and currently it is
into management Indians are doing well. There is huge demand for quality Indian
management faculty members globally who are blend of industry, research,
teaching, training and consultancy background so that they can effectively
integrate all these areas to excel as successful faculty members.
Indian
vs. International Ambience
There is a perception to take our people
living in India for granted. In
addition, there are too many politics within Indian academic institutions. At
times cream is prevented from rising. Of course, it rises ultimately! However, egalitarianism and meritocracy
prevails in advanced countries especially in a country like America. They respect knowledge of the people, not the
origin of the people. They don’t see
whether rich or poor or white or black.
They only see competencies, not color.
They see only strengths, not skin. They see skills, not status.
Likewise, there are number of ways they are ahead of us and these are some of
the reasons why Indian management thinkers go abroad and grow as gurus.
Indians
in Alien Environment
Leaving Vineet Nayar who grew within
India, most of the gurus grew in an alien land. In fact, alien environment
especially advanced countries is highly competitive. It is kind of “perform or perish”, “do or
die”, “swim or sink”. Indians often
perform amazingly well, do effectively and swim and sail successfully in overseas
shores.
Indians have great heart and are
always jubilant with the success of their compatriots beyond the borders. Not only as management gurus but also
there are number of Indians who rose in other sectors such as Indra Nooyi, Arun
Sarin and Vikram Pandit to name a few. Most of the time the Indian thinkers
going abroad are constantly in their effective zones and that brings best out
of them. They also collaborate leaving competitive spirit and that pays them
immensely. Similarly, there are number of reasons that make global Indians
stand out. As it has been evidenced from
Thinkers 50, Indian management faculties have huge potential to grow as
management gurus both locally and globally provided there is favorable academic
ambience and equal opportunities for all. Let us salute these living management
legends for making India proud both locally and globally.
