In Silicon Valley, most tech companies nowadays have CEOs of Indian descent. In February, IBM appointed Indian-American businessman Arvind Krishna as the group’s CEO. Most recently, US commercial real estate startup WeWork confirmed the position of CEO for Sandeep Mathrani, who is also of Indian descent.
Before that, many names could come like Shantanu Narayen (Adobe CEO), Sundar Pichai (CEO Alphabet), Satya Narayana Nadella (Microsoft CEO), Rajeev Suri (Nokia CEO), Punit Renjen (CEO Deloitte), Vasant “Vas Narasimhan (CEO Novartis) …
So what made the success of the Indian CEOs? According to CNN , below can be some of the main reasons.
From left to right: Sundar Pichai (CEO Alphabet), Satya Narayana Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) and Shantanu Narayen (CEO of Adobe). Photo: AP. |
Ability to predict the market
The first is the attitude of accepting change. Born and raised in a country of more than one billion people, there are dozens of languages, unequal infrastructure forces every child in India to learn how to get used to precarious life. the other way.
It is the early lessons that have become the guideline to help them patiently overcome all difficulties, thereby rising to lead in the giant business apparatus of the world.
Secondly, they anticipate things that are about to happen. The ability to predict what will shape the market is the skill required of a leader. For Indian CEOs, they have a special ability to capture relevant data and continually outline Plan B for their projects.
Although not revolutionary too high, this skill is the key to formulating long-term strategy with current market conditions and promoting vision for the future.
The success of many Indian CEOs also fosters other Asian American immigrant communities. Photo: BBC. |
Third, India is a country of “proportions”. When you grow up in a country of one billion people, everything is proportional. The rate of admission to kindergarten, high school, then university, the rate of rankings, grades, civil servant recruitment exam or even a visa review to have the opportunity to go abroad.
That has trained future CEOs with outstanding data analysis skills as well as statistical ability to complete the proposed project.
Fourth, India has an education focused on providing knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math. Indian immigrants are one of the most highly educated communities in the United States. According to Pew , 75% of Indian immigrants had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2016. This is the highest rate among immigrant countries, even compared to 31.6% of Native Americans.
At the university level over the past few decades, foreign students have tended to choose computer science and engineering disciplines. This is the object of pursuit not only of technology giants but also of other retail companies.
Faith in talent
Fifth, they work as a family. When Indra Nooyi became CEO of PepsiCo, congratulations went to her mother’s house in India to express her joy. That prompted Nooyi to come up with the idea of writing a letter to thank the parents of talented people at the company.
“Their dedicated teaching brought a great gift to PepsiCo,” Nooyi said. A letter of gratitude is valued as a trophy for the efforts of parents.
The sincerity and friendliness in the relationship with employees, even just tea waiters, is the difference that makes Indian companies stand up to the wave of discrimination in the West.
6th, diversity. Diverse workforce and leadership are key to companies. According to a Deloitte survey, 69% of employees said that a diverse management system made them feel more motivated at work.
It is the ethnic diversity that makes companies with Indian CEOs achieve certain success. The achievement could not be denied the white Americans’ efforts to repel racism by offering opportunities and treating respect with Asian Americans.
Seventh, own identity and adaptation. Our world today is gradually promoting the inherent taste of people. But to succeed, you need to know how to integrate into the crowd without overshadowing your own identity.
Nooyi, Pepsi CEO had to learn about baseball when he came to the US in 1978. Photo: WSJ. |
Nooyi, CEO Pepsi said when she came to the US in 1978, she had to give up her favorite cricket. Instead, Nooyi turned his passion into baseball because the discovery of the business language here revolved around matches.
“Because I didn’t want to be abandoned, I combined my love of sports with Yankee baseball. It was great that I got closer to everyone and got along better at work, ”she said.
Eighth, valuable time but also infinite.
“I always try to harmonize the things that I really care about, my hobbies and my work. I view Microsoft as a platform to pursue what I am passionate about. That makes a lot of sense, like ultimate relaxation, ”said Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO redefining the balance with the Australian Financial Review .
Finally, faith in talent. The fact that an immigrant became the CEO of Fortune 500 may seem impossible, but that’s also how the United States works.
Trust in people no matter where they come from, as long as there is talent is the belief that the market, investors and employees in the United States insist on. That is also the principle of American capitalism expressed by the CEOs in his executive career.