"The most successful businessman is the man who holds on to the old just as long as it is good, and grabs the new just as soon as it is better."
- Robert P. Vanderpoel
Driving on an expressway is both a pleasure giving experience as well as a pressure giving one. One can drive fast, not be concerned about traffic lights, not be disturbed by pedestrians and potholes and as the expressways typically are outside the cities, they are also scenic and devoid of traffic jams. Hence it is a pleasurable experience. On the other hand, if one is not fast enough one will be pushed aside or pushed out – in fact, in western nations vehicles must maintain a minimum speed on the expressway else, they have to get off the expressway. Hence, it puts the driver under pressure. And all expressways have many lanes on which ply trucks, buses, and vehicles of all sizes.
Running a business is akin to driving on the expressways. You have to drive fast, maintain the momentum and not allow to be overtaken, and yet overtake another, either because the vehicle ahead of you is slowing down or one behind is pushing you to accelerate. And before you change lanes, you look around, assess the speed of other vehicles, find enough space and time to switch and then actually switch lanes. In the business arena also, you have to produce faster or deliver early. Businesses also have to diversify organically or inorganically. They have to respond, react, revise, relocate and rethink. They have to slow down, assess, strategize, switch and accelerate.
In today's world where national barriers exist only on the maps and while people and products cross borders freely and easily, the competition to, leave alone excel, merely even survive or exist is fierce. Competition, cooperation and collaboration are the buzzwords. Globalize by expansion yet localize in terms of product mix.
Insight 2015, the tenth edition of Insight, will serve as a forum for business leaders to share their insights and practices on how they are changing lanes in the expressway and preparing themselves for a fiercer competitive world tomorrow. We invite you to be a part of this forum that will truly be a delight for inquisitive minds and aspiring managers alike.
