The Hindu Business Line : Progressive corporate

The progressive business enterprise may be defined as an enduring and successful company, which cares for its employees, its customers, its suppliers, and other stakeholders, including the local community in which it operates. Such a company will take its social responsibility in a sincere and earnest manner. It will function as a model corporate citizen.

People working in a progressive company will find fulfillment, both in their personal life and professional life. Their physical and metaphysical needs will be more than met in the corporate environment. There will be a continuous review and revamp of the norms and values that the organisation propagates; and do the managers stand by and support those values; do they walk the talk?

Dynamic balance

Progressive companies consciously apply their parameters in the process of decision-making and in maintaining a cohesive corporate culture. They establish a dynamic balance among several needs demanding their attention – needs of the organization for survival/success/growth, in that order of priority; needs of the employees; social and ecological needs of the society; and, last but not the least, needs of the shareholders for adequate returns and stability.

As customers and suppliers are welcome to join the design team, the progressive company is able to integrate and address the concerns of all the members of the supply, production, and marketing chain. Such relationships help the company to anticipate trends and streamline manufacturing accordingly, and also, generate goodwill.

Open to learning

The progressive company has a continuous commitment to learning. It is always open to opportunities for self-renewal. Companies cease to grow when they develop rigid attitudes and beliefs. They make no progress when they begin to believe that they have all the answers. And eventually, the companies fail because they become complacent and arrogant by their earlier success.

Like visionary individuals, progressive companies are seldom satisfied with the extent of their growth. They never rest on their laurels. “There is always a better method” is their motto and mantra for success. Towards this objective, they are willing to listen, learn, enquire, and explore — always and every time.

If new ideas are to be encouraged, fear must be banished from the mind. This can happen only when the corporate mindset is capable of treating failure and success with a high degree of aplomb and equanimity. Failure must be redefined as an opportunity for learning, and as a stepping stone for success. Everyone learns from the mistakes of everyone else in that environment.

Progressive companies are quick to adapt to the ever-changing commercial climate. They realise that a radical shift in values and beliefs is imperative, because quite often the choice in the business world is either transform or perish. When surgery is warranted, an oral therapy will not suffice. A cosmetic facelift is no remedy to redress a deep-rooted malady.

The main difficulty with the orthodox doctrine in business is its inability to deal with conditions of complexity, uncertainty and turbulence. It calls for a vision — not just any vision, but one that will inspire people into swift action. It must be a vision with a definite date as the mandate. It must be a dream with a deadline.

(The author is a Chennai-based freelance writer.)