Sunday, July 18, 2010

Final Blog Post

I got back from India almost one week ago and it's time to reflect on the experiences and impressions I got from the trip.

First of all I have to say I was very glad to find myself very well prepared by the pre-departure meetings we had prior to the trip. We arrived in Delhi after an exhausting 2 day trip and hit the ground running. I was ready for complete madness but was surprised that is wasn't as chaotic and confusing as I anticipated it to be.

The first company we visited was the Indian HQ of Yum! Restaurants International. This very first visit was exemplary for all other visits to come. We were greeted with such a friendly and warm welcome that made me almost uncomfortable. Coming from Germany, a country with very formal rules on how to behave in a business setting, it was almost like visiting friends than company execs. This is one common theme I experienced throughout the trip, Indians seem to be way more comfortable with each other than it is the case in my home country. This is visble in everyday interactions, as for example two police officers walking down the streets holding hands.

This openness and warmth is also visible in the business world. While Westerners focus very heavily on data and facts and emphasize "cut to the chase", Indians seem to enjoy talking about family and other personal issues. Once a trusting relationship has been established the details of a deal can be worked out. A handshake is a word of honor and can be relied on. I find this to be very pleasant and this is definitely a main takeaway to be more conscious of personal relationships than only hard facts.

Another aspect I really liked about India was the ingenuity to come up with solutions. Indian companies have a talent to satisfy customer needs ... always ... somehow. Sometimes it seems to be highly unlikely that a specific problem or request will be solved/fulfilled in time but in some miraculous ways they make it happen. It's almost like a bee hive, completely unorganized if looked at from the outside but somehow the proclaimed goals are accomplished. I think it's a level of creativity that has been lost or is stifled in the stiff corporate culture in the western world. As a future manager I will try to incorporate this in my decision making and managing style, to allow for improvisation and creativity.

Of course it wasn't all great. One problem that especially struck me is the omnipresent issue of corruption. We were talking to business leaders and they openly said how they need to bribe government officials to get permits they need or speed up various processes. I believe it's poisonous for a country to not have a functioning administration or better speaking an administration that relies on bribes to get anything done.
Also I found it to be frightening that the average citizen does not see authorities like the police as a force for protection but something to be afraid of. One gentleman I was talking to told me that no matter what happens, you want to stay away from the police because all the will do is try to extract money from you in whatever way possible.
We complain often with pleasure about our own government but seeing a dysfunctional administration makes one appreciate the own system a lot more.
having this said I am under the impression the system of corruption is slowly but steadily dying off. As India is moving forward, those problems seem to become smaller and smaller.

Another issue I believe will be tough for India the next few years will be the weak infrastructure. Right now India is growing at exorbitant rates, however it seems that the infrastructure (water, roads, electricity, phone etc) does not keep pace with the economic growth. Again, this is mostly due to a slow and inefficient government. In order to maintain the growth levels we saw in recent years, India needs to address these issues immediately and effectively.

All in all I have to say the trip to India was truly mind changing. Most of my travel was in the Americas and Europe. never before have I seen a country like India and never have I had the chance to see how business is done in this completely foreign cultural environment.
I'm very grateful that I got the opportunity to get a better understanding on what makes Indians tick and how to conduct business with Indian companies, not only in India but also as partners and suppliers in the US and Europe. Given the economic development and the shift of powers throughout the world this seems to be a skill that will turn out to extremely valuable in the near future.