Turning Crisis into Opportunity

July 15, 2020 | Posted by BPR Team << back to blog

Life is full of curveballs, some we can sense coming our way and some hit us out of nowhere. 2020 has been that year and the batch of 2021 has started it’s business school journey on quite a unique note! A key focus of Term Zero was “Turning Crisis Into Opportunity”. Students had the opportunity to learn from top academicians and CXOs globally who seemed to view this crisis with a different lens.

Day 1 of Term Zero was set in motion by Mr R Seshasayee, Former Managing Director – Ashok Leyland, and former Chairman – Infosys. He introduced the students to a managerial acronym – ‘VUCA’, which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity and how it accurately reflects the current reality. The key point being that future leaders can, in fact, be prepared for a VUCA world by equipping themselves with the skills to be sensitive to ‘changes in trends’ and ‘warning signals’. When we arm ourselves with the right information at the right point of time, can we emerge as winners in all situations?

On the same day, Dr Sam Pitroda – an internationally respected telecom inventor, entrepreneur, development thinker, and policymaker, who has spent 50 years in information and communications technology (ICT) and related global and national developments emphasised on the importance of ‘conviction’. Dr Pitroda conveyed to the students that no matter what the situation is anything is attainable if you put your mind to it and work towards it. To achieve monumental success one needs to be courageous and dream big. Learning and redefining yourself is key to achieving your goals!

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about drastic changes in how we live. One of the key sectors which has gone about a 180-degree change from the traditional methods is the ‘Education’ industry. Dr Madhav Rajan – Dean and the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting at the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business spoke about the ‘Changing Landscape of Higher Education’. Dr Rajan addressed how the remote model of education has been faced with scepticism globally from students and teachers who are accustomed to the age-old model of teaching. He emphasised on how we are in transition to a post-Corona world where life will change drastically.

Students should be optimistic in their approach and realise that they are at the front-end of this pandemic and have the opportunity of experiencing a model which mimics how the world is going to function from hereon. People who succeed in life are the ones who when faced with a bad situation- pivot and adapt. The best takeaway from an MBA should be to “learn how to learn”. As students who are pursuing higher education in this demanding world, we should not limit our verticals and keep an open mind. At no point in time should the learning stop!

To add to this great line-up of global leaders – Mr Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India gave the students his 2 cents on the importance of hard work. He spoke about how the learning curve during a crisis should be steep and is critical to growth. With this he emphasised on the 10Cs – Clarity, Competence, Credibility, Courage, Concentration, Creativity, Constraints, Compassion, Continuity and Contentment. Dealing with a crisis involves 3Ps – People, Partnership & Purpose. Mr Narayanan engrossed the students with his journey of reviving Maggi to show how investing in people, knowing the purpose of your organisation & building meaningful relationships is of utmost importance.

A key aspect of a global crisis for businesses is dealing with the unknown! A strong sense of disruption has been felt globally and Covid-19 has resulted in becoming a major driver of business transformation. Mr Mohandas Nair, Senior VP and Chief Innovation Officer, Cambia Health Solutions guides the Innovation Force (IF) as it inspires ideas from a variety of sources, selecting execution-focused concepts and starting them on the path to new businesses or concepts. He spoke exclusively about business transformation and how transformed leaders prepare themselves. There is one change that no crisis can stop, i.e., self-transformation. To do so one must introspect and analyse their qualities. As per Gandhian philosophy, it is important to change oneself to change the world.

The world has seen major financial, natural and economical disasters in the last decade. These have all been key drivers to changes in trends and digital transformation globally. Dr Dipak Jain, European President and Professor of Marketing, China Europe International Business School (Zurich) gave the students insights into his personal experiences and challenges faced right from 9/11 attacks in 2001 to the 2008 Financial Meltdown and to now the 2020 COVID pandemic. With the help of his experiences he gave the students key learnings on how a “bend is not an end”. It is important to have your eyes on the horizon but your feet on the ground and stay in touch with reality.

With the wise words of these global leaders, the Mighty Marathas learnt how to embrace this crisis as an inevitable part of their journey. As students, we must proactively take steps to turn this into a catalyst for the greater good and long term success. Life’s greatest opportunities come when you are least expecting them!

Written by Anisha Dhawan, PGPM 2021, Great Lakes Insitute of Management, Chennai

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