Xenophobia

Courtesy Osama bin laden, Saddam Hussein and ''dear leader'' Kim Jong-il (of North Korea), the world is going to be edgier than before. Global economic slowdown will make countries suspicious of each other, and especially of those that are taking their jobs away-like India. Corporate India will need the government's support in creating goodwill.

Globalisation

An ironic result of the preceding trend, companies will need to open offices and warehouses in countries that are a) close to the customer, b) offer more cost-effective labour, or c) are politically safer. There is a compelling business case to arrest the backlash against outsourcing, which is of special concern to it and it-enabled services.

On the whole, the world will be tighter knit.

Global Headhunting

Given the costs of hiring a global executive, only a handful of companies in India currently do this. But as more firms scout international markets for business and more contemporary business practices, they will increasingly hire global executives in key positions, such as marketing, designing, and R&D. Instead of the global execs adapting to Indian culture, it will be the other way around.

Pay For Performance

Unless you are working in financial services, it, or FMCG, you still work for a fixed annual salary. Well, that's about to change. Why? Your company-and increasingly its peers in industry-wants more bang from its wage buck. That means you either step up on the gas or take a hit for missing targets. It's such a beautifully evil idea that it's a wonder it took so long coming.

Focus On Core Competence

Yeah, yeah, infotech is booming again, biotech looks seductively profitable, and healthcare may just be what you need to put your old mill land to use. But if you are one of our typical CEOs, you will do no such thing. Instead, you will look for ways to grow your commodity business bigger and more profitable. In other words, stick to your knitting.

Invest In IT

Never mind that your new tablet pc hasn't even been unpacked. But your CTO, CFO, and CMO are all going to hanker for a bigger it budget. And in case you already spent Rs 100 crore last three years on it, you'll be looking for ways to make the investment pay. After all, a world without PCs and the internet is unimaginable, right?

Psych Out The Customer

You know why your CXOs want that big-ticket investment in it? It is because that's going to help them understand and serve their customers better. Your CMO will know precisely why the new line of CTVs is flying off the shelf in North, but gathering dust in South. They call it customer relationship management, or CRN-yep, that's software too.

Process Improvements

Admit it. Your factories and your supply chain are an Augean stable of inefficiency. The more you clean them, the more your bottomline grows. For the last several years, you have had your Herculeses working on process improvements. But the need to combat slowdown and go global means you are going to make them work overtime. Yee-hah!

Pull Up R&D

Product innovation and development is the long-term game. You avoided playing that for a long time, but there's no escaping now. Therefore, it doesn't matter whether you are a pharmaceutical company or a garment exporter. You just have to invest in R&D to come up with better drugs and better ways of stitching that shirt button.

Play Hard

Finally, newer technologies and growing prosperity will mean that you not only work hard, but play harder. If you've been the oppressed salary man all these years, then you are going to be more adventurous in what you wear, what you drive, and how you spend your vacations. Why? Because your dreams have never been closer to reality. Good luck.