By: Staff Writer

November 19, 2005, Indian Express

This is the nano-second culture and it is here to stay, beyond control. September 11, the Enron trail, SARS, Iraq war, Tsunami and several hurricanes have hit and gone, and all anyone can do is anticipate the change and prepare before the next disaster. This is a mantra Prof Dipak C Jain, dean of Kellogg School of Management, the most noted MBA school, offers businessmen who want to stay ahead of the competition. "The nanosecond culture is here, it is beyond our control and companies need to be more proactive. Always prepare a most-likely' scenario, as only those who can anticipate change and prepare can survive,'' Jain said in an address to industry and government at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday. Jain, who was raised in Tejpur, is the youngest dean yet at the Kellogg School and its first Indian one. He says his ascent follows from several "core Indian values'' such as the culture of ethical treatment and of paying great attention to academics. But his rise in the field, though he doesn't have an MBA degree, also comes from paying attention to global trends in marketing, because he lived up to the mantra of anticipating change. Jain believes Indian companies do need to know who their competition is, if they are to be able to counter it. "I do a lot of work in the aviation field, and I tell people that we should not look at our own industry as the competition. The competition to airlines is from video conferencing, not other aviation firms, I remind them,'' says Jain. Though value-driven leadership is as big a challenge for the world since Enron as competition, Jain believes Indians can use their traditional value systems to create a "differential advantage.'' Besides, the demographics and industrial growth charts are in favour of the developing world, he points out. "Four of the six major airlines in the US are bankrupt, they are threatened by Germany and Japan. For the big US auto companies, GM and Ford, some say, bankrupcy is only a matter of time. But things that are not doing very well in the US are strong here,'' says Jain. The bottomline, he says, is innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit, and capitalising on benefits. "We are blessed with freedom, so India and the US are the best strategic fit. India always had the talent, now there is also opportunity, we need to merge the two.''