"The Mind of Strategist" by Dr.Suj Krishnaswamy
The Mind of a Strategist
Dr. Suj Krishnaswamy, Principal, Strategic Insights Inc., Chicago, IL.
The next big thing in the management world is the co-creation of value, meaning: the creation of value in collaboration with the customer. It is an all-encompassing term.
India is fast losing its competitive advantage as a low cost producer of goods and services. What are the key issues India Inc. needs to address to make a successful transition to high value services?
- Transitioning to high value services is going to require not only creating the brand promise in that market space but also delivering on that promise. Delivering on that promise will in turn require cultivating the value-oriented mindset at all levels within Indian companies. So helping initiate, navigate and sustain this kind of a systemic mindset change will be extremely important for the leadership teams in these organizations. Organizations can start with reassessing their strategies in their enterprise level accounts, or key accounts. As Phil Kotler and Neil Rackham, my mentors and co-authors, point out, the mindset of a high value services provider =has to be very different from that of a transactional services provider. High value service providers are expected to co-create value for the client’s enterprise at all levels. This therefore implies that all levels of contact with the client’s organization are designed and coordinated to move towards the overarching strategy. It also implies it is no longer sufficient to be involved only at the level of multiple renewable short-term
projects.
What do you think are the learnings for the West from the outsourcing led growth of Indian economy?
- First, India has set a great example in showing what commitment to great education and family values can do for a nation. Second, the phenomenal growth of the Indian economy from outsourcing has helped the West truly understand the implications of a “flat world” (to borrow Tom Friedman’s term).
Why do you think Marketing and Sales teams work in “silos”?
- The “silos” are more prevalent in traditional companies and reflect the historical relationship, when sales started running the show and marketing was a sub-function. As
companies grow and evolve they realize that aggressive growth cannot happen unless marketing and sales are in sync. In fact they realize the phenomenal reduction in sales cycle times and sales costs as sales and marketing are integrated. As you know, this is the focus of my research with Phil Kotler and Neil Rackham and is the topic of our Harvard Business Review paper, in case you want more details. We are now extending this work to India in collaboration with Dr. Bala.
What are your suggestions to integrate Sales and Marketing strategies and how does Strategic Insights, Inc. work with companies to achieve this?
- The first thing we look at is the organization’s growth agenda. Where does it want to go and what does it need to get there? This is ascertained through sessions with the CEO and his or her team. This process involves answering three broad sets of questions:
What value does the organization choose toprovide that gives it competitive advantage
overall and in its various lines of business?What does it need to do to create that value?
How can it communicate that valueconsistently in the marketplace?Strategic Insights uses the Kotler andRackham framework to help companies integrate sales and marketing strategies to successfully choose, create and communicate the right value in the market.
What suggestions would you give to a consultant who is creating a marketing strategy for a firm?
- A major suggestion would be to look at how marketing and sales are structured. Then
look at the overall growth agenda of the company and work backwards and ask: What needs to happen, and how can marketing and sales be integrated to achieve the needed growth?
How has marketing research evolved over the years and how are companies leveraging it as a strategic weapon to fend off competition?
- Definitely there have been significant advances in terms of the sophistication of the techniques being developed. We cannot just be generating data charts without extracting implications. And that’s where market research and market strategy truly interface. As Phil Kotler says, there are three steps: “What So?” is the description of the current state that market research initially answers; we then consider the implications of all we’ve learned and answer the question “So What?” and then finally we should get to the prescriptive question “What Next?” On the question of how companies use research data to fend off competition, one company might take the numbers, analyze the implications and use them productively to tackle the next wave of competition, while another might just say, “Hmm, interesting learning,” and continue to operate as they always have. The way you fend off competition is by acting on research and using it as a sensing and tracking mechanism. If you look at it as a fad or the flavor of the month you are not going to able to use it as a strategic weapon. Research is an ongoing component that grounds successful organizational strategy.
Last 50 years have seen buzz words like total quality, competitive advantage, reengineering, core competencies etc. What do you think is going to be the “next big thing” in management?
- It is already here in the management world.It is co-creation of value, meaning: the creation of value in collaboration with the customer. It is an all-encompassing term. It addresses the key question: “How are we going to involve all stakeholders like client organizations as well as our eco-system to co-create value?”
On the flip side, how do you think such fads have actually affected companies?
- Fads will always be there. The problem is when companies adopt a “flavor of the month” growth strategy. This is different from truly understanding how the marketplace is evolving and making the necessary adaptation. If leaders in organizations do not have an idea or roadmap as to where the company is headed, there will be dissonance in the organization. There will be a tendency to adopt one strategy and put processes in place and then before that strategy begins to pay off hop onto another strategy, eventually leading to unsatisfactory results overall.
What are your 3 key take-aways from interacting with great minds like Philip Kotler and Neil Rackam?
1. To be open and committed to lifelong learning. Phil and Neil never say they are the gurus or let others perceive that they have all the answers.
2. To be discerning about ideas. This is about being open to ideas from all spheres but very discerning about what is accepted.
3. Having an eclectic perspective: Being open to sharing knowledge and working w i t h p e o p l e f r o m d i fferent backgrounds, cultures, industries and spheres of life. Phil Kotler has written books on marketing and positioning in almost every major field from
performing arts to marketing of countries. Neil Rackham was raised in Asia, did his higher studies in the UK and has conducted most of his breakthrough sales turnaround work in the US and around the world.
The number of women at the helm of companies is very low. Great Lakes through the SWIM (Successful Women in Management) initiative look to empower women in business. What are your suggestions to make this a success?
- I have to congratulate Great Lakes on launching this initiative. Hats off to Dr Bala for kicking this off! You have a great team and I am delighted to be a part of it. Along with opportunities being available, it is also important to help women overcome hurdles that hold them back from pursuing challenging senior leadership positions. Hence, one of the key areas for SWIM initiatives to focus on would be helping professional women tear
down the barriers that prevent them from realizing their potential-these barriers could
be work related, family related or psychological.
Dr. Suj Krishnaswamy is a principal at Strategic Insights Inc, a global business strategy and management consulting firm (www.stinsights.com), headquartered in Chicago. She is currently working on a major project with Prof. Philip Kotler and Prof. Neil Rackham on sales marketing integration and its implications for growth. She can be reached at sujk@stinsights.com.
– As told to B Vasanth Sandilya and Ramesh Chandramouli ,
PGPM Class of 2006
Dr. Suj Krishnaswamy, Principal, Strategic Insights Inc., Chicago, IL.
The next big thing in the management world is the co-creation of value, meaning: the creation of value in collaboration with the customer. It is an all-encompassing term.
India is fast losing its competitive advantage as a low cost producer of goods and services. What are the key issues India Inc. needs to address to make a successful transition to high value services?
- Transitioning to high value services is going to require not only creating the brand promise in that market space but also delivering on that promise. Delivering on that promise will in turn require cultivating the value-oriented mindset at all levels within Indian companies. So helping initiate, navigate and sustain this kind of a systemic mindset change will be extremely important for the leadership teams in these organizations. Organizations can start with reassessing their strategies in their enterprise level accounts, or key accounts. As Phil Kotler and Neil Rackham, my mentors and co-authors, point out, the mindset of a high value services provider =has to be very different from that of a transactional services provider. High value service providers are expected to co-create value for the client’s enterprise at all levels. This therefore implies that all levels of contact with the client’s organization are designed and coordinated to move towards the overarching strategy. It also implies it is no longer sufficient to be involved only at the level of multiple renewable short-term
projects.
What do you think are the learnings for the West from the outsourcing led growth of Indian economy?
- First, India has set a great example in showing what commitment to great education and family values can do for a nation. Second, the phenomenal growth of the Indian economy from outsourcing has helped the West truly understand the implications of a “flat world” (to borrow Tom Friedman’s term).
Why do you think Marketing and Sales teams work in “silos”?
- The “silos” are more prevalent in traditional companies and reflect the historical relationship, when sales started running the show and marketing was a sub-function. As
companies grow and evolve they realize that aggressive growth cannot happen unless marketing and sales are in sync. In fact they realize the phenomenal reduction in sales cycle times and sales costs as sales and marketing are integrated. As you know, this is the focus of my research with Phil Kotler and Neil Rackham and is the topic of our Harvard Business Review paper, in case you want more details. We are now extending this work to India in collaboration with Dr. Bala.
What are your suggestions to integrate Sales and Marketing strategies and how does Strategic Insights, Inc. work with companies to achieve this?
- The first thing we look at is the organization’s growth agenda. Where does it want to go and what does it need to get there? This is ascertained through sessions with the CEO and his or her team. This process involves answering three broad sets of questions:
What value does the organization choose toprovide that gives it competitive advantage
overall and in its various lines of business?What does it need to do to create that value?
How can it communicate that valueconsistently in the marketplace?Strategic Insights uses the Kotler andRackham framework to help companies integrate sales and marketing strategies to successfully choose, create and communicate the right value in the market.
What suggestions would you give to a consultant who is creating a marketing strategy for a firm?
- A major suggestion would be to look at how marketing and sales are structured. Then
look at the overall growth agenda of the company and work backwards and ask: What needs to happen, and how can marketing and sales be integrated to achieve the needed growth?
How has marketing research evolved over the years and how are companies leveraging it as a strategic weapon to fend off competition?
- Definitely there have been significant advances in terms of the sophistication of the techniques being developed. We cannot just be generating data charts without extracting implications. And that’s where market research and market strategy truly interface. As Phil Kotler says, there are three steps: “What So?” is the description of the current state that market research initially answers; we then consider the implications of all we’ve learned and answer the question “So What?” and then finally we should get to the prescriptive question “What Next?” On the question of how companies use research data to fend off competition, one company might take the numbers, analyze the implications and use them productively to tackle the next wave of competition, while another might just say, “Hmm, interesting learning,” and continue to operate as they always have. The way you fend off competition is by acting on research and using it as a sensing and tracking mechanism. If you look at it as a fad or the flavor of the month you are not going to able to use it as a strategic weapon. Research is an ongoing component that grounds successful organizational strategy.
Last 50 years have seen buzz words like total quality, competitive advantage, reengineering, core competencies etc. What do you think is going to be the “next big thing” in management?
- It is already here in the management world.It is co-creation of value, meaning: the creation of value in collaboration with the customer. It is an all-encompassing term. It addresses the key question: “How are we going to involve all stakeholders like client organizations as well as our eco-system to co-create value?”
On the flip side, how do you think such fads have actually affected companies?
- Fads will always be there. The problem is when companies adopt a “flavor of the month” growth strategy. This is different from truly understanding how the marketplace is evolving and making the necessary adaptation. If leaders in organizations do not have an idea or roadmap as to where the company is headed, there will be dissonance in the organization. There will be a tendency to adopt one strategy and put processes in place and then before that strategy begins to pay off hop onto another strategy, eventually leading to unsatisfactory results overall.
What are your 3 key take-aways from interacting with great minds like Philip Kotler and Neil Rackam?
1. To be open and committed to lifelong learning. Phil and Neil never say they are the gurus or let others perceive that they have all the answers.
2. To be discerning about ideas. This is about being open to ideas from all spheres but very discerning about what is accepted.
3. Having an eclectic perspective: Being open to sharing knowledge and working w i t h p e o p l e f r o m d i fferent backgrounds, cultures, industries and spheres of life. Phil Kotler has written books on marketing and positioning in almost every major field from
performing arts to marketing of countries. Neil Rackham was raised in Asia, did his higher studies in the UK and has conducted most of his breakthrough sales turnaround work in the US and around the world.
The number of women at the helm of companies is very low. Great Lakes through the SWIM (Successful Women in Management) initiative look to empower women in business. What are your suggestions to make this a success?
- I have to congratulate Great Lakes on launching this initiative. Hats off to Dr Bala for kicking this off! You have a great team and I am delighted to be a part of it. Along with opportunities being available, it is also important to help women overcome hurdles that hold them back from pursuing challenging senior leadership positions. Hence, one of the key areas for SWIM initiatives to focus on would be helping professional women tear
down the barriers that prevent them from realizing their potential-these barriers could
be work related, family related or psychological.
Dr. Suj Krishnaswamy is a principal at Strategic Insights Inc, a global business strategy and management consulting firm (www.stinsights.com), headquartered in Chicago. She is currently working on a major project with Prof. Philip Kotler and Prof. Neil Rackham on sales marketing integration and its implications for growth. She can be reached at sujk@stinsights.com.
– As told to B Vasanth Sandilya and Ramesh Chandramouli ,
PGPM Class of 2006
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