If You Are An Indian Business You Should Avoid These Things

The Indian businesses have a reputation of being jugaadu. They are very well known for their unique approach to common business challenges and also for their networking. However, they are also known for not considering and tackling some of the most basic issues that the businesses in the West took care of long ago. These are age-old problems that make some of us wonder how can they still exist in 2020.

In this article, we have identified certain common mistakes businesses in India generally commit, overlook or underestimate. Managing them will lead to a business ecosystem that will encourage organized growth and profitable disposition for companies.

Here are the things that Indian businesses should NOT BE DOING:

Being Unprofessional

Yes. The big elephant in the room. You would agree that most of the companies in India are unprofessional. How? Let’s see. Not following due processes. Not documenting everything. Not having a problem lying to the vendors/clients. Employees escalating things to leaders that can be easily managed among themselves. The list is endless.

Putting on a suit and tie is not professionalism. Following corporate etiquette is not professionalism. We have to understand that conducting yourself professionally is not the same as being professional. Professionalism is an attitude; it is an approach to work and work-related situations within and outside the company. If this attitudinal aspect can be seen in every employee of the company, it will affect the work and culture very positively.

The Last Day Miracle

An important strategy is to be discussed on the last day of the month. Twenty days have gone by and the concerned people have not even had the opening meeting to discuss the scope of the strategy. This will continue till the very last day, when all are supercharged and try to cram everything in a few hours what should’ve been carefully thought and ideated over weeks. The result is, as one would expect, messy and subpar.

This is a trend commonly found among the Indian businesses. They are not good at time management and prioritization, and they do not take the ‘dead’ in deadline very seriously. The amount of underutilized and wasted resources because of this is incalculable.

Undervaluing Employees

A great businessman once said that for him the employees of his company come first, even before the customers. If you make this suggestion to an average Indian business, the company would say that ‘the employees are paid on time, what more should we do for them!’

This transactional attitude of an Indian company towards its employees not only ends up making the employees demotivated and underappreciated, but also sets an atmosphere where the employee will never be willing to deliver more than what he is paid for. There is no sense of belonging among the employees and they will not work at their full potential, a sorry state of affairs for both the company and its employees.

Betting On Half-baked Ideas

A business idea is presented. It is impressive, it is saleable, it is sure to catch the customers’ attention. Everyone is happy and thrilled. They’ve hit the jackpot! Have they? Some issues here: Is the idea backed by research? Has there been analysis on its scalability and factors attached to its implementation? Has it been compared with precedents in terms of usefulness and value? Basically speaking, does the idea fit into the larger scheme of things in business?

You see, having a good idea does not ensure it will bring in the bucks. It has to go through the agni pariksha of feasibility, scalability, long-term relevance, etc. History is replete with good ideas that could not take off because of poor strategizing. Businessmen beware! Don’t start celebrating early with good ideas, make them go through the agni pariksha of business.

Ignoring Compliance

The amount of efforts taken by Indian businesses to evade labour and taxation laws is unbelievable, to the extent that it’s funny. Not complying with these laws can put a business into legal trouble, and damage its reputation. These days, people do not prefer to do business with, work for, or serve, a company that is not following compliance.

The generations-old habit of Indian businesses to not pay close attention to the legal duties towards their employees, the government and all other stakeholders, still exists to a large extent. Not to mention that, funds procurement and strategic partnerships also become difficult for such organizations. So, if you are not systematically monitoring and reviewing compliance of your company, you are depriving it of growth opportunities.

The businesses in India have a lot of potential, but some of their old-world habits stand in stark contrast to the much evolved business ecosystems largely followed by businesses across the world today. Acceptance, awareness and learning can lead them to become well-oiled organizations and they can enjoy the benefits of large scale operations.

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AABC is a Mumbai-based business consultancy firm. It has worked with Indian businesses for 10 years, understanding their ecosystems, identifying internal and external roadblocks and providing solutions for holistic and organized growth. Its latest offering, Strategic Partnership Project (SPP), deploys consultants to interested companies to set up benchmarks, provide strategic inputs, organize operations and monitor progress.