Lessons from Leaders

N.T Arun Kumar is the Ex-CEO with Dun & Bradstreet and i was fortunate to interview him during his tenure as the CEO talking about the various challenges and the setbacks which has to be taken into consideration as a Leader. Below is the extract from the interview

1) *What are the biggest challenges you have faced to reach this position?

[ARUN]: I have had to move away from comfort zones, ‘maintenance’ roles. You see, it gets very cozy in senior roles in MNC’s and then you tend to start compromising on your ambitions and vision. I stayed focused on becoming a unique business leader, in breaking at some time soon my ‘technology-profile’ and shifting to a business profile – and to do that I’ve had to leave some cushy jobs! I believed in my unique strengths at each such change and pursued assignments that would leverage them. I joined D&B as a CIO and successfully transitioned to a business leader – thanks mostly to the opportunities I had to develop new products, meet customers (rather than do an internal technology job!), explore new geographies & markets and to participate in the business strategy rather than just execute the IT part of it! So I had to work extra, extra hard to get business’ acceptance as a leader, to get a seat at the Board as an equal as against a supporting executive. I learnt to speak the customer’s language, learnt to put business first before my department or function and finally, changed my leadership style to change my team’s attitude to business. The critical change I internalized is to be a business enabler and a customer champion and to lead from the front; to take risks that others shy away from. I also learnt the importance of trust: to trust and to earn trust – nothing is more important to a CEO than this!

2) What do you think are the pros and cons of having a situation in which there are two core CEOs rather than a single CEO?

[ARUN]: You know when I was in Citibank and Citi got acquired by Traveler’s to create Citigroup, they initially had two CEO’s. It was amusing although there was a time-bound reason for such a context – transition in the biggest M&A in the Banking world, bringing together two cultures, multiple business lines, global impact etc etc. Closer home Wipro now has two CEO’s. SAP too now has two CEOs. There are reasons for such situations that are unique to that specific organization and it cannot be generalized as good or bad. As long as the customers win, whatever works is fine! But nevertheless, internally for such organizations, it is extremely important to clarify focus areas for each CEO (geography or industry or products or business lines or skill sets based) and to draw clear boundaries so as to avoid internal confusion among employees.

3) How will you maintain a high margin at a time when clients want better prices?

[ARUN]: Innovation, Price led costing (most important) and driving efficiencies through re-usability and productivity enhancements.

4) When you look at the portfolio of businesses which you have, and you look into the future, what do you see?

[ARUN]: Lots of growth J and lots of opportunities for innovation, improvisation, market creation. We are a niche business, niche business model: we integrate 4 business lines – Credit Bureaus, Risk Management, Predictive Analytics and Information Technology – very exciting combination!

5) *Tell me something about the "new image" that your Organization is seeking.

[ARUN]: Our organization itself is new and young (setup in 2005 as a captive and became a company in 2007) so there is no need for a “new” image. We pride ourselves on our phenomenal heritage: 170 years old Dun & Bradstreet which employed 4 USA Presidents and TransUnion a leading US based Credit Information provider. Our image is one of juxtaposition of the traditional & ultra-modern, combination of global and startup and an interesting mix of very niche talent. We are agile, we are caring, we are small in size but huge in impact & value! These attributes of our “image” will continue to get strengthened.

6) What is your current assessment of the Indian economy?

[ARUN]:

7) *What was your plan of action when you took over as CEO?

[ARUN]: To create a globally successful and profitable business in the areas of Risk, Analytics and Technology, carved out of an existing captive organization. To script the vision, mission, strategy and to build a team & the organization to execute it. To infuse social responsibility in our organization’s ethos & strategy. To create a winning culture and to define our leadership agenda. And finally, to win customers! Quite a handful, right?! J I am happy to look back and see all of them achieved – thanks to my team. My Board and our shareholders have been most encouraging, empowering and supportive! I have had a dream run, so to say J

8) Where do you get your ideas, your management ideas?

[ARUN]: Everywhere J - from books that I read voraciously (and increasing eclectically!), from my colleagues (some of whom are so brilliant and daring!), from my 11 year old son (whose imagination is absolutely amazing & enviable), from invisible netizens on Twitter….I can go on and on. But mostly, to tell you the truth, I believe the best is deep inside you and being silent with yourself is the best idea generation machine one can ever get! I am learning to practice intense silence for a few hours daily…now, that’s a great idea, isn’t it?! J

9) *So what's the plan in the future? What would you like to see D & B become in the next five to ten years?

[ARUN]: Our vision is to be the most trusted partner for our stakeholders, in being able to bring together risk management, predictive analytics and technology & consulting skills to help our customers become the best for themselves and their customers. Growth in alignment of such a vision is what we are aiming at, retaining our niche.

10) In your opinion, what are the most urgent ethical issues in business today?

[ARUN]: Financial integrity and transparency of governance.

11) Why are ethical business practices so important in today's society?

AND

12) *Is ethics training just as important for working professionals? How can working professionals make better decisions on a daily basis?

[ARUN]: Absolutely important, more important than anything else. Ethical business practices are the only ones that sustain long-term. It is critical to look at our stakeholders holistically and not just at our shareholders. You know, we worked with a leading University in it’s doctoral research program in defining our model of strategic stakeholder management! Society and community development are cornerstones to a meaningful organizational & business strategy and you can’t do that without being absolutely ethical. Ethics training must be made mandatory. I remember in XLRI where I graduated from, this was given a lot of importance and the Tatas contributed actively to it. I learnt a lot from there and it left a deep impression. At D&B we have a very well defined and propagated ‘Code of Conduct’ that is our Ethics-DNA.

13) How do you think about social responsibility of the company in management decision?

[ARUN]: The two must be practiced in an inter-dependant manner. There is no alternative.

14) *As it turns out, doing good is good for business, and more companies are realizing the benefits of Socially Responsible Investments (SRIs). How is your company engaged in SRIs?

[ARUN]: We believe in – and pioneered the concept of – “Individual Social Responsibility” or ISR as against conventional model of CSR. Because we believe every individual employee MUST contribute to community service. Because, as Peter Drucker said, that’s what makes for better managers, better professionals. Human Values are the baseline for becoming good professionals too. We have seen that empathetic and socially-sensitive employees go longer miles in their commitment to work, to customers and to the organization – without being incentivized to do so! We are probably the only organization that mandates a minimum of 2 hours per month community work for our employees (it’s a HR Policy in the company and employees are assigned a performance appraisal weightage against this metric!). Please see www.dnbtransunion.com and www.idotrust.org and www.techsai.org for some interesting details J

15) *How can one find the middle path between CSR and profit maximization?

[ARUN]: As I said the two are inter-dependent and have a mutual force-multiplier effect. I believe in ISR rather than companies issuing large cheques / donations in the name of CSR. And to me quality and long-term sustainability of profits are more important than the conventional definition of “profit maximization”: social service adds those two elements to the financial health of the business.

16) In which geographical markets do you see the most growth potential for D & B?

[ARUN]: The US continues to be a huge market for us for IT and analytics. We see Asia & Africa as strong emerging potential growth areas for Credit and Risk solutions.

17) What kind of traction do you see from sectors that have been affected due to the recession?

[ARUN]: Banks & Financial Services are beginning to recover and Gartner predicts a higher IT spend in 2010-11 in this sector compared with last year. Healthcare will be big too. I also believe high-value, specialized education / learning will be a big area of growth.

18) *What do you think about recruiting Freshers? How much of importance do you give to freshers? Do you think the new blood would have something to contribute to the firm?

[ARUN]: Absolutely. Freshers do bring in energy and the perspectives of ‘next-gen’! But we are selective since we are a niche business and a niche business model – our current growth imperative calls for highly experienced specialists. We do want to create more specialists in our niche domains (Credit Bureau, Predictive Risk Analytics etc) and hence the occasional need for bright freshers – but it takes time, patience and a lot of commitment from folks beginning their careers to become credible in these fields. And that’s a huge challenge for us!

19) *Could you tell us how you are ensuring the financials stay healthy?

[ARUN]: We are a fusion of two of the best global brands in the Information Industry: Dun & Bradstreet and TransUnion. So while we have a start-up culture, in terms of our independence and agility, we enjoy the benefit of being a subsidiary of these two global organizations. Our business is captive i.e. we only serve our parent companies and their customers so our financials are predictable and extremely healthy. We have been profitable and cash-positive from the very beginning and that is a testimony to our delivery capability and our business model. Our valuation has reached 5x in less than 3 years since inception! We have a healthy business pipeline and commitment from our parent organizations.

20) *Do you think the world economy is on a way to recovery? Or is it just a temporary phase? How about in India? Is the worst over?

[ARUN]: Yes certainly (on way to recovery), though the recovery will be a slow, painful process. We are already seeing turn-around especially in export oriented sectors in India (e.g. IT/ITeS Services). What is happening in the US and specifically in the Banking/Financial Services industry is more long-drawn out and no, the worst is not yet over, it is just pulling along slowly upwards. India, I believe, is strong – our economy is growing in a robust manner and by & large the financial sector was immune to the blows from the US. A lot of companies, across different sectors, are now seriously looking at India as a growth market. Telecom, Healthcare and Technology will lead the boom.

21) How do you zero in on the investments that will fit the kinds of priorities that will work towards the kinds of goals you have?

[ARUN]:

22) *How do you balance your personal and work life?

[ARUN]: In my experience (and existence!), the term “work-life-balance” is a bit anachronistic! To me, it is about work-life integration. We live in a global, all-time-zones, competitive professional milieu and increasingly find personal & professional life always inter-twining! We have to constantly straddle interests, ambitions and multiple priorities so delineating the two worlds is becoming impossible. I stay connected always both at work and to my family; I have come to realize that these two need not be mutually exclusive: as long as the common themes are passion and purpose. So I am equally at ease tweeting with my son about Pokemons while at work and responding to urgent customer/employee emails while at his music concert or reading my books! I take frequent short breaks and I give myself fully to whatever I do. Makes all the difference I guess to the word ‘balance’…. J

23) *Just out of curiosity, who is your role model, We did see you the other day in the MSSW event held last month where you had come dressed similar to Steve Jobs, Is he an inspiration to you?

[ARUN]: Ha ha ha! Yes, I do admire him (Steve Jobs) more than anyone else in the business world but that’s where any attempt at resemblance stops! Jobs, to me, epitomizes resilience, grit to innovate and simply do what none has done before! Similar dress was unintentional! I don’t dare even think of imitating him! Coming to your question, I did have some terrific bosses and worked with some world-class business managers: Achal Agarwal and Ram Ramsundar of PepsiCo, Arun Jain of Polaris come immediately to my mind.

My role models are varied according to my different interests: Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is my Spiritual Guru, my God. Amongst world leaders, I admire H.H. Dalai Lama, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

What I really get a kick out of is to see and experience leadership in everyday life, from ordinary people: Nammalvar - a simple villager who has revolutionized organic farming against all odds, some of my colleagues at work who defy time-zones and customer demands taking commitment to new heights and finally, my mother who at 62 is the most energetic multi-tasker I will ever know in my life!

24) What is your message to aspiring managers like us?

[ARUN]: Internalize Richard Bach’s message through Jonathan Livingston Seagull: Passion, Purpose and Perfection. If I may take the liberty of adding the 4^th P, it would be – Plan. Management and leadership are all about – and only about – People (hey! That’s your 5^th P!!). So focus on developing the soft skills and continuously improving upon them.

PS: This was done as part of the 'What CEO says' project from SMOT School of Business

Also posted in http://smotbizschool.blogspot.com/

Dakshina Chitra - Heritage Unplugged

Dakshina Chitra - Situated in the outskirts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu is one place where you can bring back memories of the past especially in my case, My Childhood. You can call this place an entire town/village in the 70's or 80's and will indeed take you back in time. The Rich Heritage of India is shown here in Dakshina Chitra (DC) and not only did it impress me a lot in the Architecture of the old India but also the living traditions of Art. I was told by one of the guides at DC that some of the houses were made into pieces from the respective states where they were taken and then restored here in Chennai. DC focuses mostly on the South Indian Folk performing arts, crafts and the rich heritage and architecture. Having been here in Chennai for almost 7 years it was really unfortunate that i have not had a chance to visit DC, who opened its gates in 1996. Infact i wasnt aware of such a thing, maybe it was the lack of publicity or else would have gone there long back. Thanks to a close friend of mine who

shared her experience going there and i was so tempted to go there that when i got a chance i flew down there. Pictures will say for itself as any photo taken inside happens to come out well and in short i can call it a Photographers paradise. Lots of "Click" opportunities and the uniqueness of each houses inside make you feel like you have travelled to a lot of

places even though you are stuck inside the 10 acre land facing the Bay of Bengal. There were exhibits from the 4 South Indian States viz Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and all of them put together had around 12 houses each one different from another which was mind blowing. My Formula/Suggestion to all reading this here in Chennai, Please go and visit this place, atleast that way you know how our ancestors lived!! :P

Video Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A5GJhA6BrA

Photography –My 1st love

Since I have posted some about Formula1 earlier I thought its high time I do something about my 1^st love Photography. I know a lot of people who loves photography, most of them tell they just love it but when asked about the photographs they have taken the only thing they have to talk about is the Birthday parties or the Trips they have gone to. In the olden days (Not very long ago) we used to have something called as “Films” or “Rolls” which on an average would have only 36 pics which can be taken in one roll, Time has indeed played its part with the improvement in the technology over the last few years and Digital cameras have taken over along with the Introduction of Camera’s with mobile phones. When you take a snap now all the receipients of the camera flash would come running to the camera asking for the picture to be shown and have a retake if one of them dint look good. I recently went through a marriage album where not a single pic where people were actually posing for the snap were seen, all thought since it being Digital you can have it deleted and then retaken. I really miss the old camera’s because of this sole reason.

My interest for Photography started at a very young age, at around the age of 6 when my dad who used to be a not so professional but knew the basics of Photography taught me how the frame has to be when a Photo is taken. Initially I never knew what the four corners of the frame which can be seen inside the see through of the normal camera was for, He taught me that the subject has to always be at the centre of the four corners and that if there were any scenery behind that has to be captured as well. I grew in an era where Digital Camera’s or Mobile camera’s were not even in the market and because of that clicking snaps became a

very rare affair. It was indeed at 12^th when I got a hand at a Digital camera that I started clicking pictures which were mostly natural Photography and was a complete No-No to any subject. Mobile photography became very common during this time and I captured all the images I could with my 1.3mp camera. Did not have a high end camera during that time that is when I started borrowing Digital cameras from friends and go about clicking anything that comes to my sight. The sole objective then for any tour/trip would only be photography and my friends were always happy with the fact that they can get some snaps of them clicked by a Professional (:P) So much of talking high about myself but seriously who wouldn’t like their snaps to be clicked, and it is the creation of God which many have failed to remember and this can be done only when you capture it in a different and attractive way. India has one of the most beautiful places on earth and one of them I was fortunate to visit was Manali in Himachal Pradesh which has got so many valleys, mountains, snow and what not. This was a one hell of an experience I had with Photography as each frame was better than the other and was confused on what to click. This was the time my lil machine the Nokia N95-8Gb arrived and then it was full on Photography as you need not have to carry your camera with you as this little machine would give a decent clarity to the images you click. So far 8000 clicks with this little one and he is still going strong. In all so far I have around 24000 files with a *.jpg file name which have been clicked by me. I need to get that to a bigger number which I am working on right now. I have however restrained myself in taking pictures of people as they tend to take advantage of me and I feel there is no point in taking their pictures, one reason being they remain as a thrash in my Laptop or a Hard disk and the posers of that pic does not bother collecting it me considering their excitement while clicking. There are lots of pics where I am not there as most of them don’t offer to click back one of mine when I have clicked theirs, this is something to be learnt from the foriegners. I happened to meet this English couple when I was in Bahrain, when they asked me to take a snap of them, after I did I was asked to stand and get a snap of myself clicked. I was surprised as this would never happen here.

I havent thought of taking Photography to the next level as I know there are lots of stuffs which needs to be learnt if you want to get there and I am happy carrying this as my Passion and Hobby!!

The Social Network - A Review

To begin with, my regular readers here will be surprised at a Movie review in my Blog which by the way is a First, there are many reasons to this and out of which one being the involvement of Business/Entrepreneurship in this movie titled “The Social Network” .Never knew the hardships faced by Mark Zuckerberg, to many who is aware of is the CEO/Founder of Facebook, the world’s largest Social Networking site. “The Social Network” is one of the best films I’ve seen this year apart from “Inception” due to its power of writing and Direction. Facebook has become a part of life for many and its evident at the fact that they have a strong customer base of 550 Million subscribers which no other social networking website has. “The Social Network” is a pretty interesting experiment in making a movie about current events especially when the original characters are alive. Zuckerberg, Eduardo Savarin who is the Co-Founder of Facebook and Winklevoss brothers are all real people, and the events depicted in the film are all, within reason, real events that actually happened over the last 7 years.

Any Multi Billion Dollar business comes along with a lot of fighting and conflicts with regards to its founding and the same thing happened in Facebook where the Winklevoss brothers filed a case against Mark for having stole their ideas which were perfectly depicted in the movie. The movie revolves around the case hearing of the Lawsuits filed and the story is shown as each incident is told in the hearing. David Fincher, the Director of the movie along with the Scriptwriter has made the movie look very simple inspite of all the technical terms they use in the movie which a non-techy person like me would have been wondering “What the hell are these guys talking about??” Inspite of not having any Graphical/Visual tricks which most movies are using as their USP, the Director has indeed put the movie together in such a way that the movie doesn’t go slow or lag to make yourself bored.

I really liked the character played by Jesse Eisenberg who as Mark Zuckerberg really felt inside me that probably he is the real Mark, The way the dialogues were delivered were really great and thoughtful by the director as being the kind of geek he is, he had to speak everything very fast with lots of technical terms which were done perfectly. Surprise package in the movie was the appearance of Pop singer Justin Timberlake who plays the role of Sean Parker which I’m sure people who follow him would have gone crazy watching him in the big screen. Given that Facebook is what it is today I believe this has come at the right time for them to reach their next big number which is 1 Billion subscribers which is 1/7^th of the world population. Man!! That indeed is a great number which Mark and his team will die to reach!!

The movie is indeed an inspiration to many who follow Shiv Kera’s statement “Successful People don’t do different things, they do things Differently”. The movie clearly shows this as when there were websites like MySpace and Friendster, Mark went onto to see what they had never envisioned, Mark wanted to explore various other ways of attracting the crowd and Facebook has indeed successfully done it. Another interesting point to be noted is the un-willingness of Mark to make business profits out of it in the initial stage of its growth inspite of various sources of funds they were getting by way of advertisements. Eduardo Savarin, who is named as the Company’s CFO in the beginning brings in Advertisors and it was Mark who thought the subscribers would start unsubscribing to the site when they see the advertisements. The thought process really worked for Mark with his correct decision and it is only during the recent past that they have started using the marketing aspect for its growth. The Company "Facebook" is now worth $25 Billion!!

The Social Network has indeed shown the most infuential invention of this generation and will be remembered for many years to come and anyone looking for a Entrepreneurial venture in the future, this is where you can get your inspiration from.

My Formula/Rating is a 4.5/5 (Only because havent seen anyone giving a 5/5 or else it’s a perfect 5)

Obama’s Visit Brings Hope??

We all know what happened over the last few days, the News Channels were all covering the visit of the US President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama. So much of drama existed before the President step his foot, with the 2 city’s who were waiting to welcome him were getting ready for his visit. Cleaning and painting the pavements and the roads where he was supposed to visit and all that.

I was seriously shocked at the kind of security and protection given to the President, starting from the fighter Jets accompanying the Air Force 1 through the entire voyage, the Choppers and the Bullet Proof vehicles and the 100’s of soldiers deployed for their Presidents visit. Such is the might of the leader of the World’s most powerful nation. No other leader in the world would have such facilities and protection however simple the person is. The US Govt had spend a whopping $200 million (Rs 900 crore approx) per day on Obama's visit to the country some of which included the security preparations and the entire booking of Hotel Maurya Sheraton in Delhi.I was just thinking to myself as to why not stay in that 5 star facilty machine The “Air Force One”.

I was fortunate enough to see the then President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam a few years back and was just comparing the same with that of the US President. Dr Kalam was just a few metres away who was accompanied by only a few security vehicles.

Now, Keeping aside the security I was surprised at the kind of simplicity Obama showcased in that interaction with the students of St. Xaviers and security wasn’t that a big one, but insiders revealed that out of the 300 students who were let inside the hall, each one was looked upon by militiary personnel on top of the building which was covered with Black curtains. Now this is something the media did not know or might thought it wasn’t necessary to show it to the world. The interaction went on well in the very typical Obama way wherein the questions which were very sensitive were answered smartly unlike George Bush who did not look at the impacts it would have in future.

Barack did his homework before coming into India by getting to know whatever is happening in India and increased his General Knowledge when it came to the Indian History and Culture which was evident from the Historic Speech he gave in the Parliament. He started the speech with a “Namaste”and many Indians who happened to hear his eloquent speech live were spellbound and it captured the hearts of the Indian population especially the young one’s where he stressed on the importance of the Indian Youth.

He was quoted as saying “You (young Indians) are future leaders, future educators, entrepreneurs and future electors. More than half of all Indians are under 30 years old. It is a great statistic. Every single child holds promise of greatness.” This is something every young Indian is not aware of ie like around 60 crores are under 30 years old which is a staggering figure as compared to any other country in the world. What we youngsters have to take into mind here is the never ending competition which will exist for the many years to come with India becoming a Developed Nation.

Obama’s other statement which I was very impressed was “How do you want to make the world a better place? This is your century to shape. There are powerful examples before you.” We are the people who will be leading the nation in the years to come and its our responsibility to make sure that whatever we do we do it for the sustenance of the country and the world. Obama’s on their visit to a High school in Mumbai were amazed at the students stressing on the importance of Global Warming and they were not only concerned about India, but the World as a whole

The $10 Billion deal is a gift to the Indians from the US President and it comes at a time when India is almost there at the next step to reach the ‘Developed Nation’ title. This can be used as a foundation for that great phase for India. A promise to the permenant seat at the UN Security Council is made but who knows if it will become a reality. India after that will be a country looked upon by many nations.

I don’t know if the promised made will be implemented but then Obama has indeed won the hearts of Millions of Indians!!

My formula: Don’t wait for US to give away the benefits, instead go by the respective countries Economic Policies which will built the strenght by itself like how our neighbouring country China did!!

Lets hope for the best and see to it that the promises by US are made!!

Why Work Abroad??

Last monday while i was passing through the Gemini Flyover, Chennai, which has the US Consulate right adjacent to it, I happened to see the number of youngsters ie in the late 20's standing under the hot sun in a long queue to get inside the consulate for the interview process. I was sure this group of people arent going for a vacation nor are they going for studies. I had this feeling inside me as to why are they going abroad when there are lots of opportunities here in this vast country, India. It is indeed their loss that the kind of opportunities available here are many for the next few years which no other country see it coming.Yes, I do agree at the Dollar's you can earn when you get there, but you tend to spend majority of the amount there and you end up saving nothing because of the high cost of living, which comes to the conclusion that you have to sacrify staying away from your family and relatives and you get to earn nothing as a premium for that sacrifice.

Two years back when the economic slowdown/meltdown as it was called, India was one of those countries which did not have much impact and this is because of the strong work force here in India and the nominal pay check the employees receive as compared to an average of 10 times remuneration for a person working abroad. India was one of those countries which

helped the other countries in fighting the Global Financial crisis. After the global cut down of jobs worldwide during that period there was a necessity by the International Labour Organisation of around 90 million jobs which was required for the recovery and it was India which contributed around 35 million jobs that very year. This shows how capable India is when it came to giving those extra jobs in such a situation globally. A not so technical example will explain why India was not affected with the Economic Meltdown, One being the exremely thoughtful economic policies and the other one being the pay checks received here in India as compared to the other places.For eg; A software engineer earns on an average of $1000 a month whereas abroad he would get on an average of $ 6000 a month. So, if you fire a person abroad its equal to firing 6 people here, that is something any lame man knows but we tend to just dis-regard it. Interestingly that very person earning $6000 would end

up not saving anything because of the cost of living. (I just heard from a friend of mine about a full Grill Chicken which costs here Rs 300 and costs around Rs 12000 in Japan :P Funny example but this is the truth). I have put my thoughts here and have decided to have the whole of my career here and not end up somewhere else, atleast as a young citizen the country needs me!! :P

Think about it guys, give it a thought!!

Joint Venture - A "Hands on Experience"

We all know what a Joint Venture a.k.a “Association d'entreprises” is, we have been hearing this now and then and it was indeed my luck as I was involved in a Joint Venture deal last week. Started my internships just 2 weeks back in a firm known as CPC Diagnostics Pvt Ltd ( www.cpcdiagnostics.in ) who are the pioneers in the supply of Diagnostic Products and services where they import the Instruments from Europe and the US and then supply to the Laboratories here in India. There was this discussion on having the Re-agents (which has to be used with the Instruments for its running) to have it imported in bulk and then have those packed into small bottles. The challenge of this being the import of the re agents in large containers which is riskier and dangerous as this are being transported by sea. The first task given to me was the identification of the ‘Make or Buy’ impacts ie the advantages and dis-advantages of having the packaging done here. After the analysis was done a Projected cost had to be calculated which showed that a cost decrease of 40% was possible when the ‘Make’ Option was implemented. A Balance sheet and a Profit/Loss A/c for the next 3 years had to be prepared which showed that the Break even would reach at the end of the 2^nd year which is a pretty good one when this industry is taken into consideration. The project was approved and an agreement between Awareness Technology, USA and CPC was signed. Any joint agreement should benefit both the parties and the way in which Awareness was benefited was the increase in the demand of the products which CPC will import and maintain a standard quantity which will be ordered for the next few years. My hands in this agreement were on the preparations of the documents for the JV which included the Joint Venture Agreement, Schedules such as MOA and AOA and all the relevant licenses and legal documents which as a 1^st time hands on experience gave a sense of excitement and an understanding of how an entire JV is done. Even though this is not as big a deal as the Vedanta’s or the Tata’s, as a beginner it really did give me the confidence and hope that any JV’s which could be done in the later stage of my life, I would handle it easily. I would like to thank the firm (CPC Diagnostics) for giving me a chance to prove my potential and giving the confidence which I believe no one else would give taking a pretty big deal into consideration.