India has developed rapidly over recent decades - from an agrarian regime that had been restricted by what might be described as ‘the heavy presence of British colonialists' to one that is rising up the ranks of international indices, like ‘the Ease of Doing Business' produced annually by the World Bank.  There are other indices with global reach, such as the Index of Economic Freedom and the Corruption Perceptions Index, to name only two.  But in India, with its massive population (and still growing rapidly) and with many strong regional governments ‘doing business' always exhibits several tensions - one is the lack of skills and the other is populism: both manageable by government reform programs.

Aspiring to be better
It is good practice in business to review one's operational practice against others in the same sector, and indeed look to the ‘best in class' no matter what sector that firm may operate in - simply to ascertain how ‘we' do things and where ‘we' can do better - since without aspiration one does not grow and achieve more. And while undertaking these reviews of one's business practice the firm can also look broadly at all the circumstances of the firm's operation including the degree of diversity compliance and the development of social well-being given to its staff and returning something to the community in which it operates. Such reviews were once rare but are becoming more mainstream as firms expand to regional, national and international operation.  The norms and expectations of other people (suppliers, logistics providers and customers) at a distance are not the same as in one's home town and they may generate surprises to be absorbed as a new learning opportunity. Firms that have a global reach like Rolls Royce, or IBM were once dubbed as arrogant as they did not listen to customer's wishes - instead they proclaimed they were the experts and the customer was not correct at all. Both firms almost failed, and the once-proud saying of "… doing a Rolls Royce job", meaning a task very well done, lost all its meaning.  Now we are again happy to ride in one of their cars or fly in aircraft propelled by their jet engines - but it took time and humility for them to learn to listen and to be able to assure the customer that their concerns were also the concerns of the business. Talking to each other ensures each side becomes clear about issues and about the supplier's capabilities.

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