A WAY WITH WORDS

Venue: class room of an elite management institute
Occasion: Student presentations, XYZ subject

“I think that the strategies of this company have been undergoing a huge paradigm shift. They have been focusing on customer delight and they have been trying to move the customer up the Maslow’s hierarchy and by doing so they are moving up the value chain themselves. Instead of focusing on the stated needs of the customers, the company has been focusing on the latent needs and by doing so they have created a huge franchise of loyal customers. I think that, by focusing on internal branding, it has been able to percolate this sense of customer centric ness down the organizational chart ……..”

The speaker was fully in control of the situation. He was in full flow. He had an imposing presence, as can be seen from the above he was extremely articulate and judging by what he was saying, it looked as though he really knew what he was talking about

I was clueless, though. But since, I am generally clueless in most classes; I did not want to rely on my own judgment. So I did what I usually do during classes, I kept looking this way and that trying to catch some sign of intelligent life around me.

I had to look a little more closely, before I could decipher the signs. There were a couple of guys listening closely. A few more were nodding intelligently.

I felt happy I hadn’t relied on my own judgment.

The professor was looking sad. I did not care for it, though. He always looked sad. I hated him and I told myself that.

Before long , a hand shot up. “ Do you think that there are any leadership issues?”
Hmmm…the question made sense to me .

Speaker , “ I think its all got to do with locus of control. I think that the current CEO of the company has more of an internal locus of control and I believe he should change it to be more external”
Amazing , I thought.

Another hand , “ According to the life cycle theory , don’t you think that the strategic thrusts of this company would have been different?”
Hmmm….I did not understand the question , but I wanted to know the answer.

The professor was looking sadder by the minute. I did not care for it though. He always looked sad. I hated him and told myself that.

Speaker , “ According to the competitive grid analysis that was done , and an analysis of the SCAs of the company , I fully believe that consolidation is the best strategy in a fragmented market like this one”

My jaw dropped . It was one hell of an answer .


The professor was looking sad. I did not care for it, though. He always looked sad. I hated him and I told myself that.


Earlier hand , “ What about the ethical implications?”

I didn’t give a damn about ethics . But the speaker was on a roll . So I leaned forward in my seat.

Speaker , “ I believe that there are huge ethical implications and that it is very important to balance the imperatives of a ruthless business environment and the internal calls of spotless ethical behavior”

Wow , how true, I thought. Balance business with ethics . My respect for the speaker went up two notches from the already high position it was in.

“Last question please”, it was the sad professor . I never hated anyone more in my life. What was he thinking , bringing such an erudite conversation to a premature end.

Last hand , “ Do you think that the company really found a holistic solution to the problem? In other words , do you think the company has been able to effectively integrate people, processes and technology ?”

I leaned forward to see who this guy was. The speaker had met his match at last, I thought. What a fitting finale , I thought excitedly.

Silence.

There was silence.

The speaker was silent .

I was at the edge of my seat .
Time seemed to have stopped.
My palms were sweating.
What will happen now ? My idol , my hero was silent . He , who was never at a loss for words , was silent .
The pause was becoming more and more pregnant with anticipation.
It was as though the entire class was holding its collective breath.

The professor looked as though he was staring down the barrel of a gun. I did not care. I hated him and I told myself that.

The speaker sighed.

The speaker fidgeted.

The speaker finally smiled

The speaker said , “ I think that this question sums up neatly the essence of all the above four questions”

I was at a loss for words.

The speaker continued, “ Whether it is the question of ethics, or internal branding or gaining market share , I believe it’s a combination of people , processes and technology . So in that way I think it is extremely important . Thank you”

If I had thought earlier that I had never encountered a cleverer question , now I was sure I had never heard anything so profound and so deep , yet so practical.

I was in awe of this guy . I have been worshipping him ever since.

The class came down in thundering applause. It did not stop for a full minute.

The professor looked as though someone had just died. I did not care though. I hated him and I told myself that.