Entrepreneurial Leadership

Corporate life is a long-haul game.  Raj Jain, CEO of Walmart India, and Rajiv Verma, CEO of Hindustan Times Media Group, share their leadership experiences and lessons learned.  

In conversation with INSEAD professor of entrepreneurship Balagopal Vissa. 

What makes a good leader? 

It’s all about an idea and a passion to succeed.  Great leaders, whether from entrepreneurs or professionals, are also great communicators. It's about connecting with people – great leaders have an enormous capacity to connect.  It’s best practice to always hire teams that are good at your weaknesses.  Leadership is about accepting your weaknesses and it’s important to be humble.  The great Indian middleclass culture gives values that are timeless.  It is important to engage with the team in the early period as it goes a long way in getting alignment.  Jain
 

Sometimes you build teams and sometimes you inherit the team. How do you deal with that challenge?

You create a framework of shared values, especially for those who are working at a distance, away from headquarters.  Also, getting the right people on the bus and wrong people off the bus is very critical when faced with an inherited team.  Verma 

How do you manage change in the company?

Bringing in young talent is important for change to percolate. Verma

The Walmart philosophy is that ordinary people can do extra ordinary things if given opportunity. 75% of Walmart sales persons are those who started at the bottom. Jain 

What are some success factors?

There are no short cuts to the top.  You need to prove yourself all the time. An eye for detail is also important for success and to have an understanding of both depth and width across functions. Verma

Take the opportunity to work in geographies and different industries.  Jain

Keep an eye on the long term, but make short steps. While trying to reach the top, try to think what legacy you are going to leave behind.  Verma