Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, recently participated in an intranet chat with employees across the Group. As the Head of one of India's leading business houses and an insdustry spokesperson, Mr. Mahindra shared his views on the Indian economy, the global financial crisis and his experiences at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting at Davos.

Presenting excerpts of the conversation...

Morning, Mr. Mahindra. You've talked about zeitgeist with reference to slumdog millionaire..the overwhelming desire for hope and optimism - can you elaborate on zeitgeist and if it is relevant to our current economic scenario as well?

'Zeitgeist' is a German word that refers to the 'spirit of the times.' It is the ethos of an age, and reflects the current feelings and beliefs, hopes and fears of society. I believe in the midst of this global meltdown, and particularly in the west, where the situation is grave, there is an overwhelming need to believe in the future and in the possibility of overcoming challenges. That is why a story like 'slumdog' which features a kid overcoming the most deprived cirumstances, has struck a chord with audiences throughout the world, who want to believe, that they too, will emerge victorious from their current economic woes.

In this scenario of global economic crises, how do you position Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives? (Especially considering the fact that at Mahindra, rightfully and meaningfully so, CSR depends on the PAT of every company)

I'm very pleased that there is at least this one question on CSR! If the current meltdown has demonstrated anything, it is that overweening ambition and greed do not have a place in tomorrow's world. There is incredible animosity now in the west, particularly in America, towards the past Wall Street role models that are believed to have maximised profit goals to the exclusion of societal goals.

The last decade saw the rise of financial wizards who were idolized for their single minded pursuit of profits and anyone who tried to genuinely adopt a 'triple bottom line' approach was seen as 'wimpy' and not aligned to shareholder interests. I believe the world has now changed dramatically. Consumers want to buy products and services from companies that fit better into their societies and communities and I believe such companies will, as a consequence, demonstrate better financial results. However, I think we have to confine our funding of CSR activities to the profits we make, because if we don't, we may not have profits in future to continue our good work!

Good Morning Mr. Mahindra. Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you. I have two questions a) Many countries are focusing on alternative energy resources and green technologies. Coupled with the thought of employment generation, minimizing dependency of India on foreign oil etc., How do you see M&M as a company participating in such an initiative? b) How are we participating in our efforts to overcome / address / improve infrastructure related needs in our country? or other similar initiatives from multinational companies in India, to establish 'Intelligent Urbanization' efforts. Thanks.

Two great questions, since it is an opportunity to showcase that we are in the forefront of these efforts! I could write a hundred page answer to these queries, but let me just say that Mahindra is increasingly being seen, both in India and abroad, as a leader in the green movement. Quite apart from the CSR intitiatives we have taken--like the 'plant a million trees' campaign, in each of our sectors, we're adopting climate change as a key plank in our product or service platform.

At the last auto show in Delhi, while the NANO garnered all the limelight--quite justifiably-- the theme at our stall was 'Green warriors' and we only showcased our alternative energy vehicles, ranging from the hybrid Scorpio to the hydrogen three wheeler. Indeed, M&M's auto division recently received the 'Green vehicle' award at the NDTV Car and Bike awards, for our Micro Hybrid vehicle. In addition, Mahindra Lifespaces, our real estate company, bases its market positioning on providing green homes. We were the first developers to receive platinum ratings for some of our projects.

Finally, Mr. Rajeev Dubey has become a renowned spokesman for corporate India's green ambitions, and has spoken not once, but twice, at the British Parliament on our green plans, and on why Indian companies will be more credible green crusaders than western multinationals.

 What was the most encouraging (or perhaps simply the least discouraging!) thing you experienced at Davos this year?

The most encouraging thing was that the participation at Davos this year was at a record high! Everyone seemed to feel that it was worth coming together to exchange ideas, and work swiftly towards a COLLABORATIVE resolution to the world's economic woes. Bush's Invasion of Iraq, was an example of egregious unilateralism. Davos showed that the West has recognised that in tomorrow's world, problems are best solved through collaborative action.

Sir can you kindly apprise us as to how Davos has helped Mahindra?

Davos reminds me of a vast, global caravanserai, (a crossroads and meeting place for global caravans) somewhat like what Samarkand used to be for global travellers in ages past. You take your caravan and park it there, and mingle and interact with all the other travellers from all around the world. It's an opportunity to learn what's happening in distant places, a place to observe new technologies and practices, and a place to make contacts for trading and business. Finally, it's a way of letting the rest of the world know who you are and that your company is worthy of respect.

The debate on whether India is decoupled from the impact of the global financial crisis has probably come to a premature end. In this context, what do you believe should be the Mahindra Group''s stance on globalisation of its businesses? Are we better off without adding complexity and multiplicity to the number of variables that affect our business models?

Well, we first started out with hubris, claiming that India, like China, would be decoupled from the western world's economic woes. Frankly, I have happily claimed that I was never one of the votaries of that theory, since any economy of global significance could never be completely decoupled. Then, the debate moved to its next phase, and we capitulated and admitted we could not be decoupled. But I believe the pendulum swung too far to the other extreme. Because there IS a very large part of India's economy that IS decoupled from the world, and that is Indian agriculture. Rural demand and growth will be the 'flywheel' that will move India's economy forward even during these times. And if we do retain this advantage, as well as strong support from a sound banking system, then there's no reason for us not to go 'window shopping' for global assets AS LONG AS these are aligned to, and enhance the long term strategies of our businesses.

Sir my Dad says, "Where is the recession? I can't see it! The queue outside the mall, the petrol pump, at the railway station, is still the same. Recession is for those who live beyond their income. There is a Marathi quote, Panghrun Pahun Paay Pasrave. The majority of Indians still adopt this lifestyle. This applies to organisations as well..." Do you agree?

Wonderful quote! I couldn't agree more. If you look at which segments of the economy or companies are faltering, it is those which got overly ambitious and lived beyond their means or bought global companies that were too large and are now draining their resources. And what is selling the most in the automotive sector? Products like the XYLO, which provide uncommon versatility and value... Tell your dad I agree with him.....

Dear Sir, our Government has announced several packages to help us overcome the recession. Do you think this move will be beneficial? How long do you think it will take the Indian auto industry to recover?

I think these stimuli will certainly help for two reasons: one is that they will help bring prices down and encourage consumption, and two because they signal the government's intent to take the crisis head-on, which will provide a psychological morale booster. Psychology is a very important element of recessions and cannot be ignored.

Dear Anand - It has been widely postulated that it is the inherent Indian/Asian cultural traits that have helped us weather the financial crisis better than the West, and will see us emerge stronger from the slowdown. How did your interactions with world business and political leaders at Davos validate or refute this view?

I've already spoken about the strengths of the Indian agricultural economy and unintended benefits of our retarded banking reform. These are the real reasons for our capacity to show growth even in the face of a global meltdown. These, more than any esoteric 'asian' cultural factors have worked in our favour. It is also true, of course, that we Indians, (and most asians) have seen very hard times in our own lifetimes, and hence have a more optimistic view of the future than western societies. That's why we alway seem to rank high on surveys of happiness! That psychological trait is aptly summarized by the film 'slumdog' and partially explains its astounding popularity.

In this scenario of global economic crises, how do you position Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives? (Especially considering the fact that at Mahindra, rightfully and meaningfully so, CSR depends on the PAT of every company)

I'm very pleased that there is at least this one question on CSR! If the current meltdown has demonstrated anything, it is that overweening ambition and greed do not have a place in tomorrow's world. There is incredible animosity now in the west, particularly in America, towards the past Wall Street role models that are believed to have maximised profit goals to the exclusion of societal goals.

The last decade saw the rise of Financial wizards who were idolized for their single minded pursuit of profits and anyone who tried to genuinely adopt a 'triple bottom line' approach was seen as 'wimpy' and not favourable to shareholder interests. I believe the world has now changed dramatically. Consumers want to buy products and services from companies that fit better into their societies and communities and I believe such companies will, as a consequence, demonstrate better financial results. I think we have to confine our funding of CSR activities to the profits we make, because if we don't, we may not have profits in future to continue our good work!

What was the most encouraging (or perhaps simply the least discouraging!) thing you experienced at Davos this year?

The most encouraging thing was that the participation at Davos this year was at a record

high! Everyone seemed to feel that it was worth coming together to exchange ideas, and work swiftly towards a COLLABORATIVE resolution to the world's economic woes. Bush's Invasion of Iraq, was an example of egregious unilateralism. Davos showed that the West has recognised that in tomorrow's world, problems are best solve through collaborative action.

Kindly let us know what solution you came across at Davos to help fix the recession from the India point of view? Also, what are your views on the recent protectionist comments made by Mr. Obama.

I wish solutions were so easy to come by! In fact, I found the mood of western participants at Davos extremely gloomy. I was happy to come home and bathe in our traditional optimism again! I actually found that India will be less impacted than the rest of the world's major economies and hence has a chance to become a magnet for capital over the next few years as long as we achieve at least 5% GDP growth in F10. As far as Obama's protectionism is concerned, I think a lot of it is political rhetoric. If anything, his policy on H1B visas will create greater offshoring to countries like India and China.

Sir, in the current global scenario what should be the aim of any company?

At the last Blue Chip*, I did give some guidance on how I thought we should face the current turbulence. My prescription had three elements: REBOOT, REINVENT, and REIGNITE. Which essentially is: a)get back to basics, and lower our costs and breakeven levels, b) focus on innovation, especially frugal innovation c) and finally, don't lose our entrepreneurial spirit and our ambitions and keep scanning the local and global environment for opportunities to expand our market share and our global footprint even as former global giants flounder.

* Blue Chip refers to Mahindra's Senior Executives conference which is held on an annual basis

You can now sail the high seas on a Mahindra!

After conquering the toughest of terrains with its famed SUVs, the Mahindra Group has now forayed into water transport with the launch of Mahindra Odyssea. Mahindra is the first major Indian industrial group to enter this segment.

The company will establish a presence in the high-potential fibreglass power-boat and catamaran manufacturing industry. Initially, its product portfolio will consist of the Mahindra Odyssea 22 and the Mahindra Odyssea 33. Global design expertise and Mahindra's proven engineering skills have combined to produce a world-class, quality product. Every boat will be backed by a comprehensive service and support package including training/induction, safety practices and maintenance.

Target customers will include individual and institutional corporate clients as well as the paramilitary and defence forces.

Feast your eyes on Mahindra's new sailing beauties!

Mahindra Odyssea 22

     Mahindra Odyssea 33

The recent Adam Sandler starrer 'You don't mess with the Zohan' features a song from the hindi film 'Disco Dancer' (composed by Bappi Lahiri). Another recent film 'Slumdog Millionaire' has a full Bollywood style song and dance routine composed by A R Rehman (apart from Anil Kapoor acting in it).

While these may seem like stray incidents, the fact remains that Indian Cinema has come of age and is getting the recognition it deserves. More and more directors and producers in Hollywood are waking up to the fact that Indian Cinema could be the next big thing. Of course, this will not happen overnight. Fact is, our brand of cinema will need to evolve and mature a great deal before we take that jump, but the stepping stones are in place. There is also no denying the fact that things have changed and we are no longer making the two-brothers-lost-in-a-mela brand of cinema. The multiplex culture has ensured that now there is cinema for the discerning viewer and directors are being adventurous and experimenting with this art form. In the past few years, for every formulaic big budget 'blockbuster', there have been a couple of small budget art house films which have been equally successful.

Also, India, by virtue of its rich cultural heritage and diversity, has the best source(s) for cinematic material. If a 1000 page 'Lord of the Rings' can be made into a 9 hour film, imagine what we could do with our 'Ramayan', "Mahabharat', ;The Puranas' and so on. If fictional characters like 'Superman' and "Batman' can spawn multi-million dollar franchises, imagine what we could do with the hundreds of characters available in our collective literature and mythology. Just one epic like Mahabharat can give you reams of material as each character in the book has his own story, which sometimes is as detailed as the main story itself !!

M&Ms foray into this field could not have been better timed. This is the best time to be in this industry if you happen to be in India. I'm sure the day is not too far when the name 'Bollywood' will not be derogatory in tone and an Oscar for an Indian film will not be a pipe dream.

What's in a name, you may ask? Plenty, if you're a car!

Mahindra & Mahindra has just pulled the covers off its latest project - Ingenio - to reveal the brand name for its much anticipated new car which is all set to hit the roads by year end.

Here's a bit of trivia on how some of the giants of the auto world got their famous monikers.

Mahindra XYLO was chosen after extensive research as it is a perfect fit with the new car's attributes. It's trendy and contemporary, implies luxury, high fashion and technology and has connotations of Space, planets and the future. Mahindra XYLO will soon take its place amongst its older siblings, the iconic Scorpio and Bolero utility vehicles.

For more information on the latest offering from the Mahindra stable, watch this space!

The Chinese character for 'crisis' is a combination of the symbols for 'danger' and 'opportunity'. Crisis is, in fact, like an uninvited guest - it comes calling when you least expect it. Yet, crisis can also be viewed from a positive angle - as an opportunity to innovate and do better in future.

On his blog, Think | Innovate | Execute, Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson, CEO of Industria, states that during an economic boom, most companies and consumers choose the most obvious option, without taking cost or long-term viability into consideration. This is usually because it's easiest to opt for something familiar. Hence, when money isn't the primary factor to consider, lesser known but highly innovative solutions tend to fall by the wayside. However, once money is in short supply, both businesses and consumers become more cost conscious and focus on long-term benefits. This helps fuel innovation, growth of new ideas and ensures customer needs are fulfilled in as efficient a manner as possible.

Companies can't avoid being a part of a larger economic crisis but they can certainly use it to their advantage by developing more robust and cost-effective processes and investing in long-term innovation which is the ultimate differentiator when it comes to business. The Indian Railways is perhaps one of the best examples of successful innovation in the face of adversity. The world's largest employer and one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, the Indian Railways was, until very recently, a loss-making organization on the road to bankruptcy.

When Minister of Railways, Laloo Prasad Yadav, took over the reins in 2004, he had a budget of just $200 million with which to turn the beleaguered institution around. Instead of retrenching staff and increasing passenger and freight fares as expected, Yadav chose to retain the railways' large workforce and in fact, reduced fares by up to 45 per cent with a long-term focus on building volumes. Moreover, mere increase in capacity of a long-distance train from 800 passengers to 2,000, saw input costs fall by over 40 per cent.

Plans are also afoot to expand freight lines, increase their efficiency, and capture the 60 per cent of goods that are still transported by road. In a striking example of innovation, Prasad will also plans to use the railways to aid in India's water conservation efforts by building siphons and canals, and pipes with water for drinking and irrigation on the wasteland on either side of the 64,000 kilometres of track. He plans to reduce fuel consumption by building train carriages from aluminium to reduce their weight and electrify the main routes throughout the country.

A combination of calculated risk-taking, ingenuity, business acumen and long-term vision has seen the Indian Railways emerge as a success story, an example to emulate. Another instance of innovation in the face of adversity is the increasing focus on eco-friendly technology for cars in the backdrop of rising oil prices. This has led to an increase in vehicles running on alternative fuels such as the Alfa CNG, the Bolero Pik Up CNG and the Bijlee, India's first battery operated three-wheeler.

Perhaps the last word belongs to Prasad's adviser, Sudhir Kumar who says, "We are not in the business of railways; we are in the business of transportation - one of several modes of transportation, and the only way to survive and thrive in the marketplace is to offer superior and compelling value to your customers."

Ennui

It's 3 am. I have a presentation tomorrow morning and I still have a mammoth job to finish. In the midst of thinking about how much work is left, I have already reached that stage of exhaustion where one can't even sleep. And suddenly out of sheer laziness I start to think of an 'innovative' way to wiggle my way out of the work I haven't done.

My MBA nurtured this streak in me - the quality of being able to save my skin. I call it innovation. I have somehow come to believe that a lot of innovation stems from downright laziness. Research, rationale, pragmatism - basically all that society has conditioned us lesser mortals to inculcate in ourselves- just clogs our minds, limits our perspective and forces us to think within a certain parameter. We are taught to think in a specific way and this is force fed into our system bit by bit.
 
On the other hand, ideas that stem from utter desperation to just save your posterior, somehow, turn out to be truly ingenious. In college too, uncannily, the best presentations, reports, projects etc. that I made, were the ones that were completed in the nick of time. By divine grace everything came together at the last minute, with me spitting out brilliant, original, out-of-the-box ideas.

I think I just end up spending a lot of time planning each and every activity and I do not plan enough time to actually do it- so then again here I am sitting down one fine day...night...early morning...when my boss has lost all hope of me being able to come up with a below the line marketing campaign and then...a flash of lightning later (more a flicker of a tube light later but I like to be melodramatic!) I have a campaign that I can be proud of. 

Moral of the story: Adrenaline rushes...pressures...deadlines...laziness... - true innovation germinates from these.

 
The medium of television revolutionized the delivery of entertainment, opinions and news. It was the first step towards bringing the world into people's homes, albeit in black and white to begin with. My generation will remember the Sunday evening Hindi movie or the Friday night Chhaya Geet. They may remember Sarita Sethi's crisp delivery of the 9 o'clock Hindi news or the dulcet eyes of Luku Sanyal delivering the 10 o'clock one in English. Sabira Merchant's What's the Good Word was perhaps India's first game show. And no Parsi worth their Dhansak would miss Adi Marzban's rollicking variety entertainment show - Avo Mari Sathe (Come Along With Me.)

Television brought a sense of immediacy to news and created an entirely new dimension for spreading information. While the Internet has changed some paradigms and will continue to do so, the 40 year old television re-invents itself continuously to be the pride of place in most living rooms.

While corporates explore new ways of internal communications, very few corporates (none so far in India) have used the potency of television to their advantage. MMTV is our very own Internal television, which if used effectively can ease the challenges of integrating our rapidly expanding organisation. Smart programming can unite the vast diversity that exists in the Mahindra Group today - both geographical and cultural. Interviews, story boards and features can transfer Mahindra values from companies that have been part of our Group historically to younger ones.

While we explore different technologies to bring TV programming to all the units in our organization and set up an in-house MMTV Studio, we are open to ideas on content. I have been the first reporter on MMTV (I wonder if anyone will remember me as fondly as I remember Luku and Adi.) but we need more reporters to captures news, views and stories "breaking" in the various companies that belong to our organisation. Breaking News, News you can Use; but NO Saas Bahu blues, mind you!

At Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. (MLDL), we are striving to be energy efficient and quality conscious with reference to our products and processes.  We have taken the initiative to "Go Green" for all our Residential Building Projects in India. Four of our projects so far are now registered for the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for green buildings, making us the FIRST Residential Building Developer in India for LEED - Precertification of the Projects. We have also signed an MOU with CII-GBC for feasibility studies for all-ongoing projects.

But what does all this mean for the families that wish to own spaces we build?

We would like to provide avenues and opportunities for them to truly conserve energy and live in an environment that safeguards the future.

In this post we would like to take the opportunity to share with you MLDL's vision for a sustainable future and hope to talk a lot more in our subsequent posts about our green initiatives in more detail.

Green Buildings and its benefits to residents

Green Building is a design and construction practice that promotes the economic health and well being of your family, the community and the environment. A green home incorporates smart design, technology, construction and maintenance elements to significantly lessen the negative impact of the home on the environment in five broad areas as mentioned below and improve the health of the people who live inside.

• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy efficiency and atmosphere
• Environmental Friendly Materials and resources
• Indoor Environmental quality

One of the main benefits of Green Building is that a high-energy low emissivity glass will be installed in all fenestration, which will have low SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient). This kind of glass has high light transmission ratio with low shading coefficient and in turn induces more day light effect than normal glasses. Due to low SHGC, entire fenestration system will reduce the energy requirement for indoor air-conditioning substantially in comparison with normal fenestration.