A lot is being said and written about Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. To be completely clear, the politics of it is less interesting to me than the concept itself. My mind did begin drawing parallels between the idea of the padayatra and its application in the business world. Since I teach at a Business School, I found some interesting connections that may be of relevance to young MBA students.
Firstly, cool branding. Whether you agree or disagree with the political message, this is very solid branding. Based on a powerful idea, expressed simply and in only a few words. My compliments to whoever thought of the name.
An excellent editorial I read in the Indian Express by Peter Ronald Desouza appeared on 8th September. In it, the writer reminds us that Rahul Gandhi is not the first politician to embark on a walk through the country. Some of the path breaking yatras by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Chandra Shekhar, N T Rama Rao and L K Advani used this idea to understand the minds of the masses and in some cases mobilize opinion in a desired direction. The writer quotes the advice given to Mahatma Gandhi by Gopal Krishna Gokhale before the former went on his yatra. Gokhale suggested that Gandhiji tour the country “with eyes and ears open, but mouth shut”.
Let me take a minute to reflect on this in the corporate context. Almost everyone in a corporate career will have attended meetings in which there was endless debate and lots of questions but no answers. We all know someone who suffers from uncurable verbal diarrhea. The entire point of meetings is to exchange ideas and get to a shared understanding of what’s going on and what to do about it. If people are only pausing to think of what to say next, that’s not happening.
So, what does the yatra have to do with the business world and B. School students? Here is my take.
Just as politicians use the yatra to connect with the common man and gauge underlying opinions and realities, corporate executives meet clients, customers, sales teams and suppliers to get a grip on the business as it happens. Boardroom reviews usually provide a glossy view of the business and only first-hand contact with the real players of the game can uncover the truth, sometimes the unpalatable truth. Nothing like an outspoken retailer or sales officer to say it like it is.
So how can this approach work for MBA students?
Case studies are used to expose students to the intricacies, nuances, complexities and pressures of the real world and span multiple industries, which enhances learning. To supplement the case experience, students may choose to connect with people actually working in companies from the industry or segment under discussion. A visit to a distributor, retailer or consumer would deepen their understanding and bring the business opportunities and challenges to life.
I always suggest that students adopt this walkabout approach as preparation for placement interviews. A favorite question that recruiters ask students is “What do you know about us?”. This is a veiled attempt to establish how serious the student is about the firm and whether he or she has invested time and effort to understand the company’s business beyond the superficial. Merely saying that the firm competes in certain categories or is the market leader with XYZ brand is not going to cut it. The standout candidate will have researched the firm, read about the trends and dynamics of the industries in which it competes and would have visited a few stores, chatted with a handful of customers and watched recent and historical ad campaigns. Being equipped with this map of the company’s world allows for rich discussion and creates a lasting impact on the panelists. When the company releases its offers, you can bet that the yatris will be at the top of the list.
So, if you are a business school student, what are you waiting for? Begin your padayatra NOW. Who knows, you may even get to meet a young man named Rahul.