Titan: A built in India, designed in India & eventually made for the world Leadership Story
“When the
future is unpredictable, what can a leader make predictable?”
Titan story provides a powerful leadership example
through Xerxes Desai, Titan founding managing Director. It is not merely a
story of a successful Indian watch company. It is a story of visionary
leadership, strategic thinking, exemplary execution & most importantly the importance
& power of the people or the team.
Back in the 1980’s when Titan entered the watch
market, it was predominantly dominated by the traditional big & established
brands. But the visionary leadership of Mr. Desai challenged the traditional
& trusted paradigm. The leadership lesson was not simply, “How do we make a
better watch?” but “How do we change the way India experiences time?”. The
watch was transformed from a functional instrument into a fashion and
emotional product. This is the essence of visionary leadership.
Titan did not try to win simply by competing on
price. Rather it chose a different strategy which relied on reliability, contemporary
design, Quartz technology, understanding consumers & building trust around
the brand. The strategic lesson is powerful: You do not always
win by doing what competitors are doing better. Sometimes you win by changing
the basis of competition.
From management to Leadership: One of the most important thing that
differentiates a leader from a manger is inspiring people to act. Titan's
journey demonstrates how a compelling vision can align designers, engineers,
marketers, retailers and thousands of employees behind something bigger than
their individual roles. This is where leadership becomes different from
management. A leader makes people understand “Why does this matter?”.
And last but the most important lesson, one
which is the most talked about in recent times, which is empathetic
leadership (Understanding your people).
“Markets are unpredictable.
People are the constant.”
Consumer preferences change.
Technologies change. Competitors change. Economic conditions change. But people
continue to be driven by fundamental needs: trust, recognition, dignity,
belonging, aspiration and purpose.
A great leader therefore does not
try to predict everything.
Instead, the leader builds an
organisation that can respond intelligently to uncertainty.
Titan's greatest achievement
was not simply making watches in India.
“Its greater achievement was
demonstrating what Indian leadership could imagine, build and inspire.”
A leader sees what others don't
see.
A leader makes strategic choices
when there is uncertainty.
A leader gives people a purpose.
A leader creates trust.
And a leader makes people
believe:
“I can be part of creating
something bigger than myself.”
Because ultimately, markets don't
create organisations.
People do.
Technology doesn't create
transformation.
People do.
Strategy doesn't create value.
People execute the strategy
and create the value.
And therefore, when the future is
unpredictable, the greatest responsibility of a leader is not to predict the
future.
It is to build people and
organisations capable of winning in that future.
That is the
essence of Leadership.
