Events on Second Day of Confluence 2008 Center Around Unifying Theme "Wheel of Fortune"

Events on Second Day of Confluence 2008 Center Around Unifying Theme "Wheel of Fortune"

Moving on to the traits of an effective leader, Prof. Manikutty commented, "A leader is a motivator. He not only delivers results, but also creates a commitment among his followers. A leader has great energy and is constantly energizing others." He also added, "Organizations

that have a good leadership are open, have a general agreement upon organizational goals, and people are more energetic."

Speaker Series

The first speaker session at Confluence 2008 was initiated by Mr. Bhaskar Bhatt, the Managing Director of Titan. He showcased the stupendous growth of Titan Watches starting with Rs. 176 Crores in 2000-01 to Rs. 4,715 Crores in 2007-08. Mr. Bhatt said. "Since its inception, Titan has made creativity, change, inventiveness, rule changing and game strategy a part of everyday life. Doing so profitably has been the recent mantra reaping rich dividends for Titan. In 2001, Titan started the transformation process by embarking on a three point program: Prosperity, Progress, and most importantly, Pride."

Mr. Bhatt shared various initiatives of Titan in Corporate Sustainability such as development of Tanishq Karigar Park for the under-privileged with incredible talent, but leading a poor quality of life. The audience applauded Titan for being one of the largest employers of specially-abled people who constitute 20% of the workforce at Titan.

He noted that wealth creation isn’t limited to management. "Wealth cannot be linear, nor can it belong to a simple dimension. It has multiple dimensions and multiple stake-holders." Commenting on the current state of financial turmoil, Mr. Bhatt remarked, "... the corporations who have a holistic approach to the concept of creating wealth will perhaps weather the storm better."

Mr. Bhatt was followed by Mr. Harsh Mariwala, Chairman & Managing Director of Marico Limited. "To make a strong company, one needs a strong culture. Mr. Mariwala gave insights into the lessons he learned during the journey of Marico from an off-shoot of Bombay Oil to one of the largest players in India with an annual turnover of over Rs. 1,900 Crores. "Single minded focus can overcome brute force. Motivating people down the line is critical in a crisis situation," he said.

The second session of Confluence 2008 was chaired by Prof. M. M. Monipally of IIM Ahmedabad. The speakers were Ms. Sangitha Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals, and Dr. Indiresan, Former Director, IIT Madras.

Ms. Reddy asked the audience present to adopt a much broader definition of wealth and not just wealth as measured in monetary terms. Exhorting the listeners to think beyond the balance-sheets, she reminded them that wealth measurement mechanisms presently in use often gave a skewed representation of the reality.

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* Contributed by -
Pratik Ved,
Secretary - Media Cell,
IIMA Confluence 2008,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

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