By K.V. Kamath, CEO, ICICI

In the not-so-distant past, the business environment was relatively uncomplicated, with a few companies offering a limited range of products, and operating in an environment circumscribed by regulation. Today, however, companies find themselves at the beginning of a period of radical change. Companies have already been forced to re-think their business models. There has been a fundamental shift in the Indian business scenario from patronage to performance. And, as the Indian economy integrates with the global one, the skills required to run successful business enterprises have changed from that required in the command regime.

Among the factors that will impact the way companies have traditionally done business are changing value expectations, fragmentation of demand, and the convergence of technologies. This is blurring the boundaries between traditional business entities and creating global brands. Indian companies will be subject to intense competition this millennium. They will have to push the boundaries of productivity to enter markets and survive. Consequently, we can expect a change in the manager's role. Technology will increasingly take care of mundane processes and reduce managerial intervention.

The main role of a manager will become that of a strategist. Thus, the millennial manager will have to analyse existing competitive realities, track changes in the environment, harness new tools and technologies, create new products and services to meet rising customer expectations, and govern with integrity. There are 10 characteristics I see in the millennial manager.

1.THE E-MANAGER. The Information Age has laid the foundation for the transition of the business environment from one driven by physical capital to one driven by knowledge capital. Millennial managers have to be tech-savvy. Technology is in the process of creating a platform-independent, low-cost communication infrastructure that can permeate all layers and sectors of the economy and provide an affordable medium for conducting business. It can integrate the value system into a seamless stream of communication and transaction. And it will not only increase the company's responsiveness, but also increase the productivity of its employees. As technologies proliferate, managers need to take intelligent decisions on what will work and what won't.

2. ORIENTATION TOWARDS SHAREHOLDER VALUE. The fundamental goal of business is maximising shareholder value. An orientation towards shareholder value entails creating a whole new set of metrics and management processes that can track value creation. Managers will acquire skills that help them make better decisions irrespective of the context.

3. STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE. A strategic change of the magnitude we will witness in this century requires managers to think in a way that is fundamentally conceptual and inductive. Sound reasoning and logical analysis are the main ingredients in any decision making process; but they are, at best, merely a complement to judgement and instinct. The new paradigm of strategy will require managers to foresee the future and track fundamental changes in the customer's value expectations. Millennial managers should realise that decision-making isn't merely a result of reasoned analysis but includes the ability to make use of one's instincts and perceptions.

4. LATERAL THINKING. In the past, decision-making involved dealing with an environment that behaved in an orderly manner. Causal relationships were stable and predictable. Today, companies find themselves having to deal with chaotic situations. Relationships between decision variables are complex. Thus, millennial managers will have to predict uncertain events with greater accuracy. More importantly, they should be able to predict which value-creating capabilities of the present will cease to be an advantage in the future.

5. RESPONSIVENESS. The complexity and ambiguity inherent in business contexts will leave managers little time for long-winded strategising. Managers should use the speed of response to their advantage-rapid decision making actually diminishes, not enhances, risk-without being driven by it. They should also acquire the competence to create information system architectures and organisational processes that can provide data-support to facilitate rapid decision-making.

6. GLOBAL EXPERIENCE. As the Indian business environment integrates with the global economy, trade barriers will collapse, and managers have to acquire the sensitivity to deal with their counterparts from other regions. They will need to be aware of cultural preferences, business protocols, and market conditions.

7. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT. Those companies that survive and succeed in this millennium will possess the capability to change whenever necessary. The ability of managers to inculcate the discipline of change among all employees is critical. Indeed, the millennial manager will have to be a leader who is responsive to the needs of the entire organisation and not just the department that he or she heads. Human virtues like patience, commitment, and perseverance will be important characteristics of the manager.

8. COURAGE IN DECISION-MAKING. The millennial manager will have to make unconventional decisions. This will require courage in making decisions that will impact the organisation's structure and systems.

9. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. Good governance emerged as a board initiative towards the end of the 20th Century. Managers must enhance good governance practices.

10. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. The importance of maintaining high ethical standards in business, and of focusing on the social responsibilities of a company will become important in this millennium. Social goals do not allow themselves to be quantified and, thus, never find a place in an organisation's performance measurement system. Often, they are left to the discretion of the senior management. Now, compliance with environmental and social goals will move further down the hierarchy and become part of every manager's responsibilities.

Millennial managers will have to re-invent the way they-and their companies-work, by leveraging the benefits of the Information Age. Constant innovation and the ability to use technology to enhance the customer interface in terms of better, cheaper, and more products and services. In a business environment that is complex and ever-changing, effective managers could well emerge as the differentiating variable for the successful organisation.

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