March 2022 – Srinath's Blog

Month: March 2022

India: 2-Minutes Meal To 10-Minutes Delivery

The availability of cheaper internet data, a plethora of smartphones with cost barriers being slashed down, ecommerce is becoming an easy adoption facility. It is not just restricted to top Indian cities, but well accepted across India. The majority of Indian demographics being in the less than 30 years of age bracket, the concept of…
Global Russian Roulette 2.0

With the current global disarray, thanks to each nation playing and playing up to its own political imperatives, the concept of what’s the outcome expected in the current Russia-Ukraine war is increasingly uneasy The two years since March 24th 2020 when India went under lockdown would count as one of the biggest turmoil for many.…
Unique working style, weekly reporting to home base: management lessons from eastern cultures

Synopsis: India has a good number of white-collar executives from South Korea, Japan, and China. These expats maintain their cultural identity and have their own style of management. They import every food ingredient from their home country. They follow and expect staunch adherence to hierarchy. Do eastern cultures give as much importance to their employees…
MSME Associations’ Unsung Efforts

Can more state governments grant large tracts of industrial land (with built-infrastructure) to industry associations so that their members ‒ the local state MSME manufacturers ‒ can set up shop and benefit from it? The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is critically important for the economic and social development of India, as it…
Coach Soch | What next in your professional journey?

Every founder dreams of the “big” exit. Quite a few, despite their success in that journey, keep coming back to their next idea or venture. It is that passion to solve problems and to make an impact in their sector of choice. For them, serial entrepreneurship is a “must-have”; It is a “state of mind”.…
Coach-Soch: When entrepreneurs, employees are bored

A short business narrative (of a 3 min read) that sets the context, challenges faced, the type of leadership involved and the questions to ponder about, to solve the issues. This is not to give answers; for business & life, in general, is not like a school-guide-book. This column is to provoke the reader to…
Does anyone miss the middle-class?

The pandemic has shrunk this segment. Policies for, and data on, the middle class must improve The world is increasingly seeing India as a major consumption market. This view is based on India’s middle class as avid consumers with sizeable spending capacity and disposable income. India’s buoyant equity markets, unicorn churning startup ecosystem and growing internet…
How ESG is set to continue to drive strategy for corporates, investors in India

When the topic is excitingly vague as it is still evolving or as fashionably thrown-about in business conversations – #ESG – and when the #panelists are experienced practitioners .. Hetal Dalal Shruti Rajan Rishi Pardal Nalin Moniz Mukund Rajan Ankur Thadani , it becomes a #MintPrimer of sorts. Satisfying to moderate this discussion at #MintIIS2022…
S.A.F.E With Sleep, Almighty, Food, Exercise

Self-discipline to start off with! And moving away from denial about anything. Issues, when they are not acknowledged on time, become troubles! “I am alright”. “I walk enough at office / home during the day”. “I can do with 4 hours sleep a day”. “I am used to eating late dinner and nothing happens to…
View | Gender neutrality: An expectation for India

Women continue to be victims and their roles in the households is still viewed through the traditional lens. Female representation in the workforce is poor, lop-sided and the nature of jobs that women do is markedly different to those which men perform. One is not born a woman; one becomes a woman – Simone de…
Coach Soch | ‘Purpose’: What it means, how it defines you and your goals

Is this word ‘purpose’ simply fashionable to use? Is it a mere PR tactic or a slide in your corporate pitch? Does it refer to reason(s) that you do certain thing(s)? Does it define or articulate your intentions or objectives in life (career being part of it)? Or is it purely something different? Does it…
Entrepreneurship amid COVID-19: Never waste a crisis, writes Srinath Sridharan

Traditionally, India had the concept of trade guilds. Many of them were linked to castes. The stereotypes included assumptions: that women entrepreneurs would set up tailoring units or beauty parlours; rural men from lower castes were expected to setup footwear units or even assemble agarbattis. In the recent decades, we have seen that (M)SME sector…
Need humor in our boardrooms: It can help the leadership connect better and communicate more effectively

Usually, ‘board of directors’ evokes a mental picture of a group of old men in a stiff-upper-lip setting, in a wood-panelled room. This stereotype is rooted in gender and age biases, as women directors do not seem to exist in these settings, and all the “board directors” are serious and stuffy men. This is not…
Crypto policy and India: The spectacle continues

As the digital finance sector is advancing at a breakneck speed, proper regulations need to be put in place. The trio of Jandhan, Aadhar, and Mobile access has made digital payments a reality. It is evident by the increasing volumes, the wider usage seen across Indian markets, and the consumer socio-economic segments; and most importantly, it cuts…
Coach Soch: Jealousy is not your friend

Has it made you question your business projections and business plan assumptions? Have you started doubting the capability of your management team? Have you suddenly started questioning the competency of your communications team? Did you start putting pressure on them to get you more positive media coverage? More importantly, did you actually try asking yourself,…
The dark side of corporate governance

Corporate governance in companies is suffering with nepotism, old networks, favouritism, we-use-each-other mentality. Leaders, experts and directors claiming highest governance standards are all around us. Many, many years ago, as a college student and then a novice professional, I read with deep passion, every statement of these (purported) tall leaders. Used to swoon over larger-than-life…
GREED is good for ESG: From green-focus in governance to default disclosures on green aspects of business, 5 action points can help

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues concern and impact each of us, and every company irrespective of where it operates. Environmental issues range across climate change, carbon emission concerns, waste management, pollution (of all kinds). Social issues range across labour issues, modern slavery, under-the-table sourcing practices, product liabilities, information disparity, privacy aspects, data security, etc.…