Lessons from the sacking of a CEO

The week that passed by was abuzz with the news of the sacking (or so it was announced in the media) of Laxman Narasimhan, who was handpicked for the job by the former Chairman of the Board and Founder of Starbucks Coffee, Howard Schultz.

Laxman has been on the job for a less than 2 years, after he took over full time in Mar. ’23, followed by a 6-month’s immersion period of going through rigorous training across cafés in the US, Mexico, Japan and China, to understand the processes undertaken in the chain that runs over 33,000 outlets worldwide, almost 30% of them operating in the United States.

With not just one but several challenges to face, the ousted CEO was doing good, at least as it looked like supported by corporate PR. 

The Indian-origin professional had earlier worked at McKinsey & Co where he served for 19 years, followed by stints with FMCG powerhouses such as Pepsi and Reckitt, before joining Starbucks in Oct. ‘22. He went on a global tour to acclimatise himself with the way coffee (and other local beverages) are consumed. 

His pitstop in India was in early 2024, when he announced that TATA Starbucks, the JV company would operate over 1,000 cafés in India (from over 400 currently) by 2028.

On social media portals, especially on the professional platform Linkedin, Laxman was a popular figure, doling out various snippets of how his life revolved in the new role.

There were several issues the ousted CEO was working on – labour challenges being the most important one. Over 400 cafés in the US alone have been unionised. The Gen Z and Millennials were not preferring in-café dining as much. 

Digital-first customers as they are termed, ordering online and preferring takeaways were trends being witnessed over all in the Quick Service Restaurant Industry worldwide, especially in the US. The inconsistency of service experience, especially that of its mainstay, the hot coffee was being questioned by ardent consumers of the Starbucks, who have patronised the chain for several decades. 

In a recent video interview to Fortune magazine, when asked about "how does work-life balance look like for a Fortune 500 CEO", Laxman had said, “If there’s anything after 6pm, and I am in town, It’s got to be a pretty high bar to keep me away from the family”.

“Anybody who gets a minute of time after that, they better be sure that it’s important. Because if not, I’ll just wait for another day.”

The role of the CEO is something that every young management trainee, a first time job seeker, looks up to in their lifetime. No matter how small the company, the title of “CEO” is a mission accomplished for several millions worldwide. While many may say they do not chase titles, they do, they certainly do.

The life at the top and in the corner room is complicated, I must admit. 

I have seen in close quarters, the lives of atleast 4 such Executives in my own personal life. They need to look in to various issues pertaining to life – personal, professional, a public life that is useful for business networking and so on.

Yet, the life of an Executive at the top is a lonely journey at best. There are so many things that the Chief Executive cannot speak in public or can confide to anyone, not even with their spouse or close friends. 

There are diktats from the Board or the Management. And then, there are these smallest of things that impacts their popularity among those working for the company. 

As exciting it looks to be, it is one thing to get in to the chief executive socks. 

And to get beaten up by life every other day, yet putting up a brave smile and to keep moving on as though nothing much happened (nerves of steel) – and eventually, a sad, sudden exit such as being sacked (as the media announces), is the least one yearns for!

People, passion and processes

In a recent post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), a user from Bangalore posted her recent experience of being a female delivery partner for a day. She chose to work in the “gig economy” at one of India’s top 3 Q-commerce delivery apps, Blinkit.

She narrated the learnings of her day at this part time role in a long thread which gained a lot of attention from many users, including from Blinkit Founder Albinder Dhindsa.

She conceded why she did this trial, that it was just out of curiosity how Blinkit (and other Q-Commerce companies) could deliver orders within just 10 mins.

She highlighted abysmal working conditions at the dark store - a mini warehouse with just a fan, from where delivery partners pick up the stuff, technical flaws, and a few potential improvements in commercial queries such as insurance payouts, how to earn payments, etc.

I initially felt that this was a great PR exercise led by the brand in a surrogate manner for hiring new staff, however when I saw that she had mentioned poor working conditions, I realised that wasn’t the case. The user, who goes by the name Sneha had mentioned that the working conditions were quite poor, without a proper seating place or access to drinking water for the delivery staff.

She also narrated her ordeals getting stuck in the notorious traffic that the Garden city is known for or having to ride through narrow roads and that she apologised to customers for her delayed deliveries.

Sajal Gupta, CTO of Blinkit replied to her a day later that a few enhancements were done in the app, as well as improved working conditions at the dark stores such as putting up seating.

I was curious to note why would a young lady wish to go-the mile to understand a delivery process. When I looked up on Linkedin, I learned that her company is a SaaS platform in warehouse management operations. 

Hopstack, Austin, Texas based company has offices in the US as well as in Bangalore, serving over 25 clients with over 12 mn orders. The company’s key goals include precision in fulfilment coupled with realtime insights and seamless integration.

Now, why I am writing about this episode?

Because I would like to stand up and salute the passion that Ms. Sneha carried in her work. 

While it was her inquisitiveness on how delivery partners operate in a market like India, it was also a very fulfilling exercise to the lady on the professional front, as she could learn first hand what are the pain points that Q-commerce giants in India are currently facing and the associated pangs at the warehouse / dark stores.

Though there are just three top (surviving) players today in the Q-commerce market, such as Swiggy’s Instamart, Zomato’s Blinkit and Zepto, all serving around USD 1 Bn worth of deliveries annually, the space is hotting up with several others pivoting in this format. 

Flipkart has recently launched “Minutes” service, and market is abuzz that Ola (Cabs) is coming back to the delivery business.

Nothing better than to learn first hand at the job role. This professional took that effort, much to the chagrin of her mother as she narrated in another tweet.

Over the years, I have seen so many disinterested staff members who do not move from their coveted seats at workplace and wish to see the world from the little lenses of their eyes. 

First hand knowledge – and it is different across industries – is so vital for professional growth.

Ask any CEO who is leading a large FMCG company today anywhere in the world and these women and gentlemen would have walked the streets, travelled in despatch vehicles and stood beside the shopkeepers to understand how people shop during their formative years.

In my own experience when I used to work for Foodworld Supermarkets around the turn of the millennium, I would stand and observe how home makers, housewives kids and men would shop at India’s first organised grocery retail chain. This was my daily routine from 6pm – 9pm.

When I set-up and ran India’s first airport retail business at Bangalore International Airport in 2008, it was a delight to watch how air passengers would shop, across various categories. There are nights when I have turned up around midnight to witness the shopping patterns of international passengers who were departing from, or arriving in to India.  

However, I have also had the misfortune of working with several co-workers ranging from those with 20+ years’ experience, all the way to freshers and new comers, who prefer the digital route for learning ground realities. 

The result, is that many of them end up suggesting incorrect decisions to the Management, which lead to their, as well as the company’s downfall. 

Ms. Sneha, took the plunge to experiment a gig job, largely known to be a male bastion, all for the love of learning more about the industry she works for. Kudos to her again, her passion and perseverance for taking this initiative.

Thank you, HR

It was a surprise to see Zoho Corp, take up front pages of leading newspapers today (20 May) to celebrate International HR Day. Seemingly, they have created quite a buzz. 

People from all quarters have been wishing their HR Heads and HR Managers and teams through social media and offline. 

Of all the days kept aside for such celebration, I think this one takes the cake (quite literally) since every employee, no matter how senior or junior the person is, always rests back on someone in the HR Team.

From getting travel bills cleared quickly or getting leaves approved, employees always ensure they build a strong camaraderie with the key persons in the HR Team. 

Mentoring (by those in the HR Team) to the others on the Organisation is not a privilege for most of us. 

There are some incredible managers and heads in the HR Team who offer a lot of advisory, guidance and remain a cushion for many in the office. 

And then there are those in HR, especially in the leadership team, who profess something to the employees at large but behave quite the opposite to their own team members! Apathy, I say.

Very few HR leaders whom I have interacted with all through my career have been a guiding light to me. I take this opportunity to celebrate some of them for their affection on me in this post.

Circa 2001, I was almost in tears when I rushed to the Head Office of RPG Retail at the Spencers Plaza in Chennai. 

I was the only Management Trainee who was posted 2,500 kms away from my home – to Kolkata, after I completed my 3-week orientation program. 

I confessed to Ms. Latha Nambisan, GM – HR at the time, that the farthest I had travelled in my life until then was to Madurai or Kumbakonam for family events and to Mumbai just 4 times since I was born, as my maternal grandparents resided there. 

And, that why was I being given this “Punishment posting”? 

She smiled at me, made me relax and asserted that it was in my best interest for me to go that far and I was the most suitable among the 40+ trainees who had joined after our MBA. 

I took her word and left home for the first time alone with 2 suitcases and 2 carton boxes – one had my Sony Music system and the other had two speakers! I was part of the progress at the then largest music store of Asia - Music World, Park Street, spread over 6,000 sq ft. 

We sold plastic cassettes and CDs worth Rs. 60 lakhs a month. That December, the store touched its all time high of Rs. 92 lakhs in revenues. Back then, over 70% of revenues came from cassettes priced Rs. 28/-. 

The next 365 days were the most memorable in my entire career till date. 

Not a single day went without me learning a thing or two, with no family members or relatives around me. A couple of years ago, I happened to meet Latha at an event where we both were guests and I thanked her on the stage for shaping my career. 

The next HR Leader who transformed my career was Tuhin Biswas, who saw potential in me to create and lead the retail transformation at Bangalore International Airport, the country’s first greenfield, private airport which was inaugurated in 2008. 

His continued encouragement to me was an added bonus. 

My first international travel had a Swiss Visa stamped on my passport and it was because of this gentleman, who pushed my case to the Management for a Knowledge tour that I would undertake to 3 countries – Switzerland, Germany and the UAE. 

During my tenure at BIAL, I would then travel to 10 countries (airports) worldwide to speak about Indian Aviation and Travel Retail, as well as to learn best practices. 

Every other HR Head or a member of the HR Team that I have interacted all through my 2.5 decades of professional life have indeed left some positive impact or the other on me. 

Thanks to Zoho, today many decided to celebrate International HR Day! 

Last but not the least, I have also had the privilege of interacting with several HR consultants from small boutique firms all the way up to top ones. 

One name I should mention here is Ganesh Kumar, Founder of Intigra HR, who pushed my boundaries to deliver what was beyond me when I was leading “Levista Coffee” during the most turbulent Covid-19 period. 

As I would say, we must celebrate the undaunting efforts of the HR Team every day, rather and not just restrict to one day! Thank you, HR.  

A Firefly finally takes off

Monday - 22 Jan. ‘24 is a very important day in my professional life. I complete eight months today in my role as Executive Vice President at Daily Thanthi’s digital start-up division. But that’s not why it is such a significant day.

“Minmini” has been in the making for the last 30 months or so. And today, it has taken wings to fly through the globe and connect Tamils together. 

What started off as a digital transformation exercise at the group level, with the Vision of our Group Chairman and Managing Director Thiru Balasubramaniam Adityan, has now evolved into a full-fledged hyperlocal social app, ready to welcome users across the world and be a single platform for sharing posts, videos and collaborate on many other things.

 

When I first met him for my interview a few days ahead of Pongal 2023, the concept was still at an ideation stage, even as M/s Accenture was strategically advising the organisation as well as developing the product. 

From just being an alternative to the likes of “Reels” and “Shorts”, Minmini has taken giant strides over the months and is now the first hyperlocal social app focussed on local and global Tamils and is ready to connect digital users to the retail fraternity around them.

During the days of brainstorming and internal meetings since I joined in May ‘23, several ideas have evolved on how the local communities could come together, embrace each other economically and drive the society towards a single purpose of prosperity.

 

Minmini will eventually host lakhs of shops, shopkeepers and service providers such as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, tuition teachers, tailors, drivers and every self-employed person to assist them spread their network. And all this comes “free” to the users as well as the professionals as they discover one another around them. 

The newest baby of the eponymous Daily Thanthi group, “Minmini” has taken a flying start today, quite literally. 

 

As you read this article, many of you would have already seen the full-page advertisement in today’s edition of Daily Thanthi across Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Bangalore, Dubai and Sri Lanka along with today’s edition of Times of India across Tamil Nadu. 

Our ads are live on Tv, Radio and several digital properties as well from today onwards. Here’s a link to the press release that appeared earlier today. 

 

I have been on the other side of Retail since 1997 – frontline operations for over a decade followed by Strategic Management and Business Development. Went through the ups and downs of Entrepreneurship and eventually decided to get back to professional employment – to be on this side, the digital side of things. 

 

As Superstar Rajinikanth says in one of his movies as a dialogue, “This is just a trailer, main picture is yet to come!”. 

 

Through Minmini, I believe I have a chance to onboard thousands of small and marginalised retailers on to the digital bandwagon. 

If I can make a small difference in the lives of a few hundreds, I will feel happy that one of the main purposes of my life is achieved. Time will tell.

My Himalayan Odyssey

Just like every December, my family and I departed on our annual vacation expecting intense flight delays due to fog-related congestions across various airports that converge at Delhi.  

To our good luck, the flight departed and arrived on time at Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi, giving us plenty of time to – shop and dine! 

Right from the word “go”, it was a shopping delight for the kids. A bit of airport shopping, in-flight (junk) food and then the eponymous walk along the inner circle at Connaught Place, New Delhi. It was their first visit to one of the retail havens of India and they enjoyed every bit, save for the prying eyes of random people on the streets. 

 

We first ate a hearty meal at Haldiram’s before undertaking the long walk, so as to end up at Wagh Bakri for a pre-dinner snack. 

 

Over the next 5 days, we travelled over 2,000 kms by road and rail across Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. We visited off-beat locations, including temples and high-points on the hills.

 

At every point of sale, it was surprising, perhaps I shouldn’t be, that the shopkeepers were accepting payments through UPI. There were instances where the vendor preferred a digital payment, for want of not accepting Rs. 500 and offering change.

 

Until 2017, this was a dream, rather a nightmare. It was not just important to carry along a Debit card, the town or city needed to have a functional ATM too. So, one had to carry adequate cash to shop, eat and consume goods and services. 

 

It is indeed incredible that in a quaint little town such as Bageshwar that the roadside vendor selling groundnuts was willing to accept Rs. 30 using UPI. 

Jageshwar, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited and offered his prayers, has atleast 50 shops and each one of them offer various items including pooja articles, trinkets, gifts and much more. All of them accept UPI payments, though many of them do not even have a credit card swiping machine. 

 

While a lot of credit would go to the Modi-style governance, I would also give it 100% to the users – shopkeepers and consumers for embracing UPI-based payments. And seamlessly. 

 

India is shinning and will further shine for the next 10-15 years, irrespective of which political party will rule the country. A continuity in regime will certainly help improve governance. The consumer boom will continue to stay as well, what with a growing middle class which is on a spending spree, whether it is during festivals or otherwise.

The tourism opportunity is opening big time in the country and domestic tourism spends are expected to double in the next 10 years. 

PM Modi’s recent visit to Lakshwadeep islands to promote tourism is nothing new. In 2019, he met the Chinese Premier at Mamallapuram, near Chennai, a historic travel point. Since then, visitors to the coastal town have swelled, post pandemic especially, including the springing up of various hotels, resorts, home stays and lodges. 

 

Similarly there have been many such examples of our PM promoting Indian tourism. Which is well followed by consumerism at its best. 

I have already swore I will tour more within India in 2024. We have shortlisted a few locations for our summer vacation during the last weekend. Where are you travelling next? Share your story.

We are already working 70+ hrs, Mr. Murthy

The world is split into two for the last week or so, ever since India’s self-made billionaire and tech mogul Mr. Narayana Murthy (NRN) said India and Indians should work long hours. It was a tete-a-tete with his former Co-Founder Mr. Mohandas Pai where he drew a parallel and to various developing economies of the previous century. 

Mr. Murthy corroborated and said that our countrymen and women should take it up as national pride and commitment to work 70 hours a week and drive the economy further, just how Germany and Japan did after the World War 2. 

A lot has been said (and remains unsaid) by top leaders, chiefs of conglomerates, politicians, State Heads, and so on, responding to NRN’s views. 

The father-in law of the current British Prime Minister Mr. Rishi Sunak, has been known to be a workaholic for well over 50 years. I travelled with him in the same flight in 2005 from Bangalore’s HAL Airport to New Delhi. He sat in the first row of the Economy class of the now defunct Jet Airways without much fuss. 

When I requested him for an autograph on a book that I bought specifically at the airport for this purpose, he politely declined, though he spent a few minutes chatting with me enquiring my whereabouts. 

Exactly a year later in 2007, another Co-Founder of Infosys, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan and I travelled in the first class of Singapore Airlines from Bangalore to Singapore, where I was a speaker on India’s aviation future at a much revered global conference. We hardly spoke with each other as it was a midnight flight, but it was a warm eye-connect between the two of us.

No comparisons between the two, but to each his own. Infosys has been built brick by brick, click by click rather, by millions of former and present employees of the company, which was one of the front-runners of the late 90s and all through the 2000s in shaping India as the “back office of the world’s IT needs”. 

If NRN has worked for 70 hours or more a week during his prime years, so have many of his employees. And many, across IT and ITES in India continue to do so till date. 

In fact, after the Govt. imposed and later on, self-imposed WFH regimen by scores of Indians since the first ever Covid-19 led lockdown from Mar. ‘20 onwards, employees have been working for over 70 hours a week, if we were to include intermittent times spent on calls, chats and email over dinner table, on weekends and during vacations.

Earlier this year in May, I proudly completed 26 years in retail. I started my career scooping ice-cream part time from 11am to 3pm at Chennai’s first and India’s second Baskin Robbins parlour way back in 1997. I would attend NIIT to learn computer languages from 7am for 2 hours and completed my graduation at RKM Vivekananda College in the evening from 4pm till 8pm. 

 

After I finished my MBA in Marketing, I joined RPG Retail where I worked in consumer facing retail formats in Store Operations roles at Musicworld and Foodworld at Kolkata & Chennai respectively. This was followed by tenures at The Future Group and Café Coffee Day – gaining significant experience in front-end retail as well as Strategic Management. 

All along, it was a 6-day workweek for most of us, especially serving consumer aspirations, as scores of Indians came out to spend their earnings in new, shiny retail formats. 

Last week, Bengaluru’s northern suburb, Hebbal witnessed the opening of one of Asia’s largest shopping centres, aptly titled “Mall of Asia”. As much as there was celebration inside the mall, there was a severe traffic jam outside and on both sides of the National Highway (cum Airport Road) leading to the mall. 

People complained on social media with photos and videos about the massive traffic jams (while they were indeed the traffic!), which was picked up and reported extensively by mainstream media. What no one shared was the lives and strains of retail employees inside this mall and many hundreds across India, over ten million at last count in organised retail, who are working towards uplifting their own lives, their families and the Indian Economy.

Many of us, millions of us rather, Mr. Murthy are already spending over 70hrs a week at work. This includes those employed in the pharma and para-medical industry, hospital staff, semi-professional services, those working for formal transportation businesses and so on. 

Of course, our beloved staff of Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Dunzo, Flipkart and Amazon (in who’s Indian entity, NRN’s Catamaran Ventures was a majority shareholder until last year) who deliver us stuff from 6am till 10pm. 

The traffic jams in India are unique and mostly self-made, where urbanites spend over 90 mins a day driving from/to work. This is also a part of the 70-hr work week. In a city like Bangalore, where the condos and apartments are mostly owned by IT & ITES professionals, the EMIs to banks flow through people who work over 70 hours a week, who ironically end up living in compromised, rental houses for well over half their lives!

The pressures of being employed are, at times, worse than the nightmares of several self-made Entrepreneurs who dread interest and debt repayments. EMIs for salaried people, on the other hand is a domiciles sword which hangs above one’s head all the time, all through their lives.

What we don’t expect or even ask for often, especially in retail Mr. Murthy, is an appreciation of our work. At least, do give us an acknowledgement that we are overworked as a tribe. And that’s enough. About our contribution to nation-building, lesser said the better, Sir.