Strategia'22 – The Annual Strategy and Consulting Conclave

Strategia’22- The Annual Strategy and Consulting conclave organized by Industry Interaction Committee, DMS IIT DELHI on 6th Nov’22. The conclave comprised of two sessions – Strategy & Consulting.

Panelist Details:

In today’s era of volatility, there is no other way but to reinvent. The only sustainable advantage you can have over others is agility. In relevance to the theme, the speakers shared their experiences, success stories and the imminent challenges in their respective industries.

The event kicked off with an opening note describing leaders’ profile and experience followed by the panel discussion. The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Varun Dhamija, Chief Digital Strategy Officer, Times Pro.

The esteemed leaders started speaking on the theme by building on the above- mentioned line. India today along with the talent that we have in store is actually going to build on India tomorrow. Technology has transformed the world completely and we have to be ahead of the curve. The examples mentioned were of Netflix and Grofers wherein they became market leaders by leveraging the technology. The same can be seen at the macro level where in India launched the digital currency.

The event then proceeded with leaders discussing about how important it is to be number one. The leaders came to a consensus that being number one is subjective. For example, Google not the first one to start search engine. Also, 47% of the start-ups who wants to sell something fail. Mr. Mansingh Jaiswal, CEO, Warehousity mentioned an interesting anecdote about the Himalayan Car Rally wherein if you skid, you are done. Hence, it is more important to be on the race than to win it.

The leaders further did a comparative analysis of Pace and Success. The one which is more important depends on the matrix you are in. If you are in a new market, you should focus on pace, and if you are in a more mature market, you should focus on success. For example, Pringles took 12 years to launch their product, but when they didn’t meet consumer demand, they came back stronger.

If we compare Data and Common sense, it’s not one or the other. It depends on the combination that there are. Data is like a compass which gives direction and common sense is required to use that data. It’s a judgement decision which will be there with human beings for foreseeable future.

Further discussion leads to the conclusion that sustainability depends on 3P which is People, Planet, and Profit. Since the tipping point is not very far, accounting is becoming even more important. Government and Businesses should bring laws to work on it. When we focus on sustainability, we move from Linear Economy to Circular Economy which is focusing on closed loop. Indians are already a part of the circular economy.
The event culminated with the conclusion with the fact that there are no short-term losers but long-term winners if you continue the journey.

Panelist Details:

“To get Game-Changing results, start focusing on Game-Changing thoughts.” With these thoughts and super successful 1^st session the leaders commenced the 2^nd session of Strategia ’22. There was a deep discussion on the expansion of consulting as a industry from 2-3 core domains to multiple domains. There are 2 reasons why consultants are needed by any organisation: Bandwidth loss and Capability development. The entire consulting process can be divided into 3 major components:

1. Technology development
2. Team Training
3. Infrastructure Development

It was rightly highlighted by Mr. Vik Bahl, Partner, Gartner that technology provides up with a much-needed upper edge in problem dealing which eventually leads to problem solving. This was a waking point for most of the students as majority have an engineering background. There was a very deep discussion regarding on-the-job training, cross functional knowledge, and disadvantages of working in silos. Mr. Uma Shankar Acharya, Partner – Consulting, ESOP Direct highlighted about various nitty-gritties of ESOP options. He talked about various stakeholders like regulators and employees. There was a very insightful session on how inputs from different CXO level leaders influence stock benefits for employees and how it is beneficial for corporate growth.

Leaders highlighted on how the consulting industry is becoming competitive day by day and the struggle which takes place even for a 40-minute slot with a high-profile client. Basically, any consulting assignment can be divided into 3 core steps including problem solving, storytelling and awareness. Ms. Bhargavi Swadia, Managing Director and Partner, PwC talked about how consultants these days need to be more client aware and how client sustainability is of utmost importance. Leaders highlighted how times have changed and how client now actually want the partners to sit and truly solve the problem systematically and not superficial inputs.

Vik Sir further talked about how consultant try to sow seeds of trust and look for long tern relation with clients. He talked that he is basically lived out of suitcase in pre covid times and how technology immensely helped to keep the profession relevant and lively. The session came to a fruitful end with leaders motivating students to hone their skills and build up required business acumen to succeed.

Both the sessions helped the students gain rich insights from the knowledge and experience of esteemed panel from the Strategy & Consulting World.