Transformation: New alchemists from ordinary people

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla
30 December 2004
Smart Manager

Under Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Aditya Birla Group acquired a new logo — and also transformed itself. It has metamorphosised itself into a modern multi cultural transnational with more than 72,000 people drawn from 20 different countries. Here, Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla shares the nine important lessons that the Group picked up during its process of tranformation.

The word 'transformation' evokes several images in my mind. For instance, the good old morphing of the caterpillar into a butterfly. Then, the 5th century Athens, with the Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.) — a seminal event in the history of western civilization. Should the small Athenians have lost to the might of the Persians, the course of history would have taken a different turn. For Athens was the cradle of democracy. To convey the victory, Philippides ran over 40 kms from Marathon to Agora. "Rejoice, we have conquered", he said. And in this run, lies the genesis of the Olympics — a truly transformational process. Or for that matter, 14th century Florence — characterized by a period of intellectual and artistic renewal under the Medici family — which signalled the Renaissance movement. Now, zoom in to the modern day cell-phone armed vegetable vendors on the streets of Mumbai.

Transformation is about turning aspirations into reality, converting setbacks into opportunities. It is about courage of conviction. It is about what Charles Handy calls "the creation of new alchemists from ordinary people". Transformation, to me, is the end result of a highly energized process that combines human ingenuity with its indomitable spirit to make new things happen and c;reate value.

The transformational process can be so absorbing that often its lessons reveal themselves long after its implementation. And, sometimes it takes a speaking invitation, like today's, to go on a reflective journey, on how we have changed and what the lessons learned have been.

As I look back on our Group's journey over nearly a decade, I do believe that we have changed in some very fundamental ways. In fact the genetic coding of our Group stands a;ltered substantially. We have become a transnational, multi-cultural entity. More than 72,000 people, drawn from 20 different nationalities of whom more than 70 per cent are under the age of 40. Ten years ago women Executives were few and far between. Today women constitute more than 6 percent of our employees and the number is on the rise. As we venture into new countries the world over, our Group's geography has changed phenomenally as well. So has the work ethos which has been shaped to stay contemporary and relevant in a different world. However, much as we have changed, we continue to constantly reinvent ourselves.

Let me quote Alvin Toffler who said "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn". In fact, much of the change process for us has been about learning, unlearning and relearning, and I have tried to cull out for you the nine lessons which we believe are key to our transformational process.

A significant part of the learning about communication has also been that the same message is filtered by different audiences within the organization, differently
The first lesson
The first question that to my mind needs to be addressed is — "What is it about the transformation process that needs to be managed?" It is my personal view that for those at the helm of an organisation in the throes of change, management is restricted to largely two broad areas. The first is the ability to manage time effectively — because an organisation in a state of flux throws up many more demands on your time as compared to one in a steady state. And the second area is that of energy management because the process of change can be rather exhausting — physically and mentally — and requires sustained levels of high energy over a prolonged period of time.

Other than these two areas that need active managing, the process of transformation is mostly about leadership. Leadership at all levels in the organization as much as leadership at the top. It is about plugging in to the minds and hearts of people. It is about rallying them around to a compelling and exciting vision of the future. It is about upping the quality of imagination of the organization. So the first lesson for us has been that the process of change is perhaps 90 per cent about leadership and only 10 per cent about managing.

The second lesson
Back in 1996, we launched for the first time a Corporate Identity — the intent at one level was simply to have a Group Identity that would serve as a Corporate Logo. We chose the rising sun. That the impact of a symbol can be so enormous, is something that took us by surprise. At a time when the Group was going through emotional turmoil, the symbol of the Rising Sun brought the different parts of the Group together, helped us as an organisation to reenergize ourselves, cross the bridge, and to get started on the path to change. The learning was quite striking. The need to relate, to belong — to a club, to an association — basically to some sort of fraternity, is inherent in all of us. The Corporate Identity served that need, as also as a proxy for a charismatic leader who was missed greatly. At another level, it made an emotional connect that wove the Group into an integrated whole.

The Rising Sun, in a strange way, brought a new optimism and served as a rallying point for the organization. That really, in a strategic way, was the first positive step for us in our process of change. The lesson we learned is that symbolism can and does have a positive effect. In our case, it was the Corporate Identity. In another situation, the symbol could well be different.

The third lesson
It is stating the somewhat obvious — but I believe it is important enough to say it anyway; a critical area in any change process is that of communication. The process of transformation is about communication, communication, and more communication. In the case of a corporation going through the pangs of change, I do not believe that you can ever over-communicate. And I cannot think of any instance, where in our case, the change process was set back because of over-communicating. Looking back, however, several instances do come to my mind, when in retrospect, I think we could have communicated more, better and faster. Using technology to advantage in communication can add a zing to the process. Reaching out to as large an audience as possible, engaging with small groups, opinion makers and those who may be impacted adversely, is obviously critical. And communication is the key to making this happen.

A significant part of the learning about communication has also been that the same message is filtered by different audiences within the organization, differently, given each one's unique world view, context and perspective. Sometime back, I learnt about a survey conducted by the United Nations. It was an international survey and it had only one question. The question was: "Please give your honest opinion on the shortage of food in the rest of the world and suggest solutions". The information was urgently required, but the survey unfortunately was a huge failure. Because in Western Europe they couldn't understand the meaning of the word 'shortage' - no one there had ever experienced a shortage of anything. In Eastern Europe they couldn't understand the meaning of the word 'opinion' — having been under Socialist rule for years, no one had ever volunteered an opinion. In the Middle East they couldn't understand the meaning of the word 'solution', for obvious reasons — there never had been any solution to any of the difficult problems there. In Africa, sadly, they couldn't understand the meaning of the word 'food', which comes by so rarely. In Asia, they couldn't understand the meaning of the word 'honest'. And in the United States they could not understand what is meant by the 'rest of the world'.

On a more serious note, the point to be made is that it is important to customize communication, so that different audiences within the organization understand the message in its right context, in the way it was intended. So, the third take away for us has been that when you succeed in the transformation, it is because your communication worked.

The fourth lesson
Different people have different roles to play in the process of change. I believe that the management of most organisations focus sharply on their high performers — the people with high potential or the high fliers as they are commonly referred to. That is, of course, important but, I do believe that what is equally important, is to focus on that bulk of the organization who are somewhat dismissively referred to in management jargon as 'the stayers'. These are people who make the day-to-day, month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter things happen. Their role in the process of change is critical. Just as 70 per cent of the human body is made up of water, so also 70 per cent of any organisation is made up of people who follow the rules, who keep it moving ahead at a steady pace. You cannot have everyone setting the rules. We need people who follow the rules, people who may not contribute in a significant way intellectually, but who are happy to implement the rules diligently. Ignoring this segment of people in a process of change, I believe, can lead — to use the analogy of the human body again — to organisational dehydration. For sustaining the transformation, you need to engage and recognize this quiet majority. These are people who are often less visible but who to a significant extent make the organization what it is.

Transformation is the end result of a highly energized process that combines human ingenuity with its indomitable spirit to make new things happen and c;reate value

So, we owe it to this mass to keep them motivated, to recognize their contribution which very often gets overshadowed by the performance of the 'stars'.

The fifth lesson
There is something to be said about the virtue of organisations that are heterogeneous in their composition. Most long-standing Indian business houses like ours have tended over a period of time to become homogeneous. This is apparent in the kind of people we recruit, in the patterns of behaviour that we espouse, leading to a cloning impact of what, we believe, is the right kind of manager or leader who would be successful in our own organisational context.

Our experience has been that a heterogeneous mix of people, though very difficult to lead, helps in the process of change. You need the fast pacers, the spinners, the good wicket keepers just as much as the pinch hitters, to become a winning team. It has been our experience that a;ltering the genetic coding, albeit carefully, can be a productive exercise that can significantly improve the quality of constructive dissent and the quality of decision making, particularly in a period of rapid change. Bringing in people from organisations with different cultures, who have different skill sets, a different pair of eyes - can be useful, so long as they all bond with the basic values of your work place. So, moving away from homogeneity or creating a climate that embraces different cultures and gives them wings whilst keeping the organisation rooted in its core values, can be a productive exercise and a useful catalyst in the change process.

The sixth lesson
It has been our learning that it is good to analyse failures with a view not to repeat the same mistakes, but it is critical to showcase success. We have c;reated a platform called the Aditya Birla Awards where team achievements across the organisation are recognized every year. The genesis of these awards is that each one of us needs something to be inspired by, more so, when we are being stretched in all directions in the process of metamorphosis. Showcasing success does that for you. It inspires, it motivates, it has a ripple impact which cannot be accounted for numerically, but has hugely positive, qualitative returns. Importantly, it has been our belief that whilst the individual stars, the sterling performers are important, it is the creating of star teams across the organisation that is most critical. Individual stars who cannot become a part of star teams, are of little value. In fact, they can be disruptive instead of being productive. So, showcasing success and applauding it is critical. It c;reates a surround sound that says we can do it, an ambience of an organisation in celebration and the impact of it can be quite astounding.

The seventh lesson
A considerable part of the change in our case reflects shifts in geography, as well as a rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions. The result is that the organisation is faced with the challenge of having to integrate with a culture that is foreign to it and, practices it has been unexposed to. For example, in our Group, an Indian manager who moves to Thailand on secondment takes time to adjust to the fact that the night shift has only women workers, something that is illegal in India. Similarly, an Indian Manager who is posted to our Australian mines can find the task of ferrying workers to the mine site by an aircraft, to and fro each day, a rather unusual experience. I have to say that our long-standing presence overseas and the exposure it brought with it, has made the task of adapting to different cultures a lot easier. All the same, an attitude of willingness to learn and assimilate from different cultures is an absolute must.

The eighth lesson
Tracking the organisational climate, specially in a process of catharsis, we believe is critical, simply because you cannot set a problem right until it is correctly diagnosed. We have relied heavily on the organisational health study methodology. In 2000, the study covered 7200 managers in 50 locations. By 2002, it had extended to 8700 managers in 65 locations. This year we have covered 10000 managers in 90 locations. For us the Organisational Health Survey is the barometer of the happiness at work index in the Group.

The revelation for us has been that the feedback from the surveys have been more honest and brutal than we had imagined. In the same unit, scores have ranged from very high to very low on different parameters. This indicates that the feedback is honest, should be taken seriously and worked upon. Year after year, teams have worked with exactitude, attacking the specific problems of each unit in a way that involves people from across the organisation. Tracking organisational health has become an institutionalized process for us and has paid immense dividends. So, the learning on this front has been that seeking feedback in an institutionalized way and acting on it, is a huge positive in the process of change. The underlying philosophy is that whilst it is the duty of the management to ensure that the company is a good employer, the responsibility for ensuring that it is a great place to work in is shared across the length and breadth of the organisation.

The ninth lesson
Today, every Company puts a premium on speed. We loathe anything that is not fast enough, for obvious reasons. In a process of transformation however, one learning that stands out for us is that it is only infinite and indefinite patience that brings immediate results. Different parts of the organisation respond differently to the change stimuli. It is unrealistic to expect the transformation process to take off at the same pace throughout. Just the other day, I had a friend telling me that the only exercise his wife ever does is to jump — jump to conclusions. In a change process too, people are quick to jump to conclusions as to the motive behind the process, how it will impact them and the shifts in the balance of power it would c;reate. Internalizing the process of change takes its own course however fast one might wish to push it through. There is no getting away from it and therefore there is no substitute for consistency. We have, I find when I look back, in some instances, tended to fall a prey to what one might call the 'last mile exhaustion'. It is that period in the journey of change where the novelty of the new ideas have faded, when sufficient ground has been covered, and the goal is near, but yet not quite so. It is sustaining the organisation's will-power and stamina through that last mile that very often makes or breaks the process of change. So, the ninth take away has been that one must guard against falling a prey to the 'last mile exhaustion' in the journey of change.

I want to end with a quote of Eric Hoffer "In time of change, the learner will inherit the earth while the learned are beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists".

The writer is Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.