A Techno-Expert of Great Eminence! - Tripti Vyas - July 2006

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is the Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Zensar Technologies Limited, a global firm that transforms Technology and Processes for Fortune 500 companies. A celebrity among IT professionals, he is much admired because of his innovative know-how in the IT sector.  Dr. Natarajan is seen as one of the most successful professionals in the Indian Information Technology Industry, having earlier been part of two major success stories in IT Training and Consulting: NIIT and APTECH. It was during his ten-year stint as CEO of Aptech that he gave an impetus to the company’s working and subsequently the image, because of which the company’s revenues grew fifty times. Then the company was listed on the Indian and the London Stock Exchanges.

 A Gold Medallist in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering, Ganesh has completed his PhD in Knowledge Management at IIT Bombay. He is the author of three McGraw Hill Books on Business Process Reengineering and Knowledge Management and has also authored a book titled Winds of Change. He is a regular columnist for India’s premier Business and IT magazines.

 He was named the ‘CEO of the Year’ by the Asia Pacific HR Conference in 1999 and has received the Wisitex Foundation’s, CEO of the Decade – Knowledge Award from India’s Minister for Information Technology in 2000. In July 2005, he received the Asia HRD Congress Award for his contributions to the organisation. Besides these awe-inspiring achievements, he was also one of nineteen finalists at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Award 2005 where he was recognised for his exemplary leadership skills and business acumen.

 He chairs the Outsourcing Forum of the Confederation of Indian Industries in Western India and is also a member of the Executive Council of NASSCOM, India’s premier IT and BPO Association. He has been elected Chairman of the NASSCOM Innovation Forum for 2005-07.

 Dr. Natarajan spoke to ‘Advanc’edge’ recently, discussing a range of topics which would be close to the hearts of management students. We at times asked him about his family background and then, switching over to his vast academic achievements and practical skills, we asked him to elaborate on some special memorable moment which, he felt, was the turning point in his life.

Would you tell us something about your formative years? Our readers would like to know about your schooling and family background?
Dr. GN:  I grew up in Tatisilwai, which is a backward village in a remote part of Ranchi district. My father was Director of a factory there and my mom was a schoolteacher. I did my schooling as well as my engineering education in Bihar. Although I lived in a backward area, I studied in a Protestant Christian school where we had to attend chapel and sing hymns every morning. This was compulsory. I did my Indian School Certificate from this school. Those days most good students either took up engineering or medicine. I took up Engineering because I hated frog dissection.

Tell us what was the most valuable thing you learnt at IIT?  
Dr. GN:  I did Mechanical Engineering at BIT Mesra, Industrial Engineering at NITIE and completed my PhD in Knowledge Management at IIT, Mumbai. The aspect about IIT studies that I liked the most was that it taught me the difference between the practitioner’s approach and the academician’s outlook and the value of both.

Tell us about your stint at Harvard Business School. What kind of programme did you do? In what way did it help in your career growth?
Dr. GN:  In the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School, I learnt a lot of details, which gave me an insight into my work. We mastered the technique of arriving at conclusions through a very scientific basis for decision-making and organisational leadership.

What do you think of management education in India? How important is work experience for a young person before pursuing a course in management?
Dr. GN:  It is not enough to merely go through years of rigorous education in a good management institution. Practical experience should be a must for every student who wishes to be a success in life. Since management education has become an assembly line process, it is imperative that a candidate has at least two years of work experience if he is to benefit from an MBA programme.

Most aspirants to a corporate career have a very vague idea of the nature of everyday work as a manager.  You are seen as the person behind the transformation of Aptech; tell us what efforts/skills went into making that possible?
Dr. GN:  If youngsters wish to be successful, they should try to be in touch with their intuitive selves. This will enable them to have a good judgment of people. It is necessary to back good people for long term in spite of temporary spells of ups and downs in career! Besides, a deep belief in good processes and practices and a clear vision and value sets go a long way in turning the relatively impossible task  into something which is possible.

What would be your advice to youngsters aspiring towards a successful career in management? What do they need to work on to forge successful careers?
Dr. GN:  Youngsters need to develop patience and humility because only active minds which are open to new learning can evolve with experience. This will help them counteract stagnation and a complacent mind-set.
Would you recall any anecdotes that you think acted as a turning point in your life?
Dr. GN:  I remember vividly my first review meeting with K.K. Nohria who was M.D. of Crompton Greaves. The team was waiting there, dreading that he would pull them up for mistakes. But then he came in and said, “Let us only review success. Failures will always happen and it is the successful people we should all learn from.” This was a great moment for me —— a learning experience. Since that day I have learnt to quickly review and move beyond failures but celebrate successes publicly and enable team learning.

Indian business and economy are changing rapidly and it is to be assumed that management practices too will change over time. Ten years down the  line, what are the skills  that management graduates will require?
Dr. GN:  Even after ten years, I feel, essential skills like focus and flexibility will remain the same. Management graduates should retain the core values and keep in mind that contexts and compulsions may change.

Considering that a corporate career, particularly in IT, is very demanding, how do you manage to create a balance between the various demands that life makes on you?
Dr. GN:  One has to strike the right balance and find enough time to enjoy the finer things of life whenever the opportunity arises. It is the quality of life and leisure that counts in a punishing work schedule and not the quantity! One has to find these precious moments and treasure them!