Global Corporate Security

Strategic Risk Mitigation Team

Our transformation from a B2B to a C2C organisation

Synopsis of a discussion by Sh Mukesh D Ambani during a EC meeting
Those who are familiar with the history of Reliance Industries would understand our genesis as a
B2B company. Our dominance in the space of oil and gas was later augmented with forays into the
telecommunications and the retail space. This was the time that Reliance Industries had its initial
experiences with retail customers-and the start of our journey from a B2B enterprise to a B2C
conglomerate. Our experience of Retail & Infocomm gave us insights into servicing customers at
the bottom of the pyramid. Matter of fact we created that layer at the bottom of the pyramid for
whom mobile communications was an unattainable dream until Sh Dhirubhais vision put a phone
into the hands those who didnt even register in the radar of other companies.
But now, we have to transition from a B2C company into a C2C company. As many of you would be
aware, JIO is not just about communication; it is about empowering millions of Indians by creating
markets, jobs, talent pools, skill development, product and services opportunities for those who
were until now constricted by limitations of meagre bandwidth, poor coverage and other
constraints of unlocking their dreams! The JIO platform aims to create millions of marketplace
opportunities for crores of Indians and exploit the full potential of this vibrant ecosystem just as
Infocomm did years ago.
But moving from a B2C organisation to a C2C is not just about creating and launching a new
product or service. It is also about how we as individuals, leaders, sub-units and finally as an
organisation undergo a metamorphosis and reinvent ourselves.
Towards that end, this document attempts to capture the gist of the new operating construct that
the Chairman shared with us during a meeting a short while ago.

The Four C to Cs and the 5 steps to achieving them

Confusion to Clarity:
Reliance Industries is a large conglomerate with many moving parts. We have all read the story of
few blind men trying to figure out the shape of an elephant and coming up with several different
versions of what an elephant looks like. The challenge we face, is somewhat similar, only a lot more
complicated. In our case we are not just one elephant. Given the diverse nature of our businesses,
the rate at which we are growing, the new challenges and opportunities that various parts of our
enterprise are dealing with and our sheer size makes understanding the full gamut of our
enterprise a daunting task. So the first C to C is moving from Confusion to Clarity.

Five Steps from Confusion to Clarity

1. Every leader must have crystal clarity about the Strategic Intent of the organisation/her/his
superior and MUST ensure that each member of their team in turn understands that Strategic
Intent so that they can assume orders in the absence of orders. Do this by having deliberate
dialogs with your own superior, understand every nuance of the strategic objectives and then
play them back to ensure that you have internalized the Strategic Intent. Then repeat the same
step with your immediate subordinates and at least one skip level. Next ensure that every
person in your command has understood the strategic intent by randomly asking them to
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articulate the same whenever you get the opportunity. Ask leaders across levels as to how they
are manifesting the strategic intent in their own areas of influence.
2. All leaders must communicate as much as possible. Do this by including more people in cc list,
involving your second tier as fly on the wall during meetings, co-opt partners in huddles, do
more informal sessions, make it a point to include some of the junior most people in meetings
where they would normally not be called. Explain the rationale of your decisions. Let your team
members not only understand the what but also the why. Why was a certain decision taken?
What were the compelling circumstances? When should we revisit those decisions? This will
not only remove the mystique of decisions but also many decisions which appear to be
totally whimsical will now start becoming logical. Also, this process will train the next in line
about various apparent and non-apparent considerations of every decision.
3. Convert tedious, long drawn textual information into succinct two pagers, short conversations
or videos. In this age of twitter attention spans and highly visual distractions, expecting people
to read tomes is unrealistic. Actively engage in learning storytelling and communicate to
inspire. This is a learnable skill. Similarly relook at the material that is used to induct new
joinees. All our SOPs must transform into films. Be consistent in your communication. Use the
organisations/subunits Strategic Intent as your guiding North Star. Thereafter ensure that
every communication is consistent. Nothing confuses subordinates more than two seemingly
contradictory messages. Have the courage to get your communication vetted by someone else.
Have the humility to encourage people to point out mistakes when you make them and
acknowledge those mistakes publically. This will only endear you as leaders.
4. Squash rumors, hearsay, conjectures at the first instance. If it appears odd or deviant from the
strategic intent; then question fast, get clarity and propagate that clarity. If you hear two
contradictory perspectives from different people, get them into one room and thrash it out
earliest. Encourage a culture of ask when in doubt & reconfirm understanding when you tell
5. Lastly walk the talk. Nothing confuses people more than dichotomy between articulation and
action. C2C is not an easy change. Many of us will find it extremely difficult. And that is why we
need to have the focused effort to walk the talk AND have someone who reminds us each time
that we deviate from our stated position.

Concern to Confidence
As leaders it is a good thing to have a healthy concern about our mandate, the capability of our
people, meeting our targets, dealing with unexpected crises etc. To that extent, concern is part of
all leaders life. However, we need to translate this Concern into Confidence in the capability of our
teams to deliver. And here are the five steps to do that.

Five Steps from Concern to Confidence

1. Starting from the Strategic Intent build a Vision statement for your group, team and yourself.
That vision should translate into 2-3 specific missions and the strategy to deliver those
missions. Next comes the structure and the people who will populate the structure to deliver
the mission. In most cases except new organisations, all this should already be in place. If so
revisit them to ensure their relevance in the current context. And make sure that every team
member is on the same page.

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2. Now spend time with your key leaders and skip levels to accurately assess and benchmark each
persons abilities. Each one of us has strengths and areas of improvement and each of us is a
package deal. Stop expecting ideal teammates or even ideal bosses for that matter. All of us are
human not superhuman and will - by definition - have failings, because that is what makes us
human. Next start trusting your key leaders with decisions in areas where you have determined
that they are strong and assist them in areas where they need help by coupling them with
people who have complementary strengths. Create task forces whose members supplement
each other.
3. Once that is done decide a list of areas where you will consciously let go and allow others to
make decisions. Remember this is watchful delegation, not mindless abdication. For e.g. in
hiring decisions allow subordinates to shortlist and act as a coach to either endorse their
decision or point out the reasons why you think a particular candidate is not the best choice.
Similarly in financial decisions, take a calculated chance and allow people to make financial
decisions within reasonable boundary conditions. Be prepared for some mistakes and accept
that as cost of training. Use language like If I were in your place I would consider this aspect
rather than Let me tell you how to do this... Ensure that you coach - not command or
chastise.
4. Create your own Delegation of Authority matrix. This does not necessarily have to be
financial decisions alone. Establish a working framework with your team, which spells out the
boundaries that they can push, and constraints that they can challenge.
5. Train your teams. Well trained teams are confident teams. Training does not need to be just
planned interventions. Each day is a training opportunity. Show people the ropes. Explain the
context. Encourage even seemingly stupid questions. Share knowledge. Involve HR in
operations meetings, call operations for finance meetings. Remember in NextGen world;
everyone needs to know as much as possible. Covert the need to know concept which denies
information into need to be aware which encourages information flow.

Capability to Competence
Like any other large and ambitious enterprise, we constantly acquire capability. In the form of
talent, equipment, software, hardware, tools, services, consulting etc. But acquisition of capability
does not automatically translate into competence. Talent needs to be unleashed and channelized.
Tools have to be leveraged by skilled personnel. Services have to be exploited to the fullest
potential by demanding managers. Think of capability as five horses drawing a chariot. Unless the
horsepower of all the five is coordinated and channelized into a singular direction in synchronized
cadence there will be a lot of pulling and expenditure of energy but very little forward
movement. And all the horses will be frustrated because though each one is giving their best; that
exertion is unfulfilling. The journey from capability to competence requires the following steps.
1. Have a plan that synchronizes resources - before acquiring them. Create an overall blueprint,
where every resource, asset, tool and service is mapped and more importantly the interfaces
between them are defined and articulated. This blueprint should serve as a roadmap and a
placement map of all resources under your command. When you create this one view it will
be easier to visualize where teams, individuals or processes are working sub optimally or even
worse working at cross purposes.

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2. Ensure that your resources especially new members of the team, are immersed in the
Reliance Culture as soon as possible. The induction program must be carefully crafted and
personally supervised by leaders at the highest level. This is a line not an HR job. Include
newcomers into as many meetings as possible during the initial weeks. Even in those that dont
concern them directly so that they know the context, the ecosystem and start making
friends. Meet with the newer members of the team more regularly to ensure that they are
learning the ropes and finding traction soonest.
3. Given the size of our enterprise, our pace and rate of growth it is not surprising that there
would be multiple initiatives that look similar or have some parts which may be the same. And
there would be different teams that are approaching the same or similar problems with
different approaches. And that is good because it builds-in redundancies and leverages the
power of more minds. However the key to unleashing the full potential of teams is
collaboration. But simply uttering that word will not make us collaborate nor will merely asking
people to break down siloes. Turfs are part of human nature and it is our job as leaders to
recognize that reality and work actively towards fostering collaborative teams. Towards that
end - encourage team recognition rather than individual, team play rather than solo
performances. Foster we; discourage I.
4. When it comes to tools, technologies and services question their efficacy periodically.
Oftentimes there is a lot of due diligence before acquisition of equipment, tools or services,
however once that is obtained leaders take their eyes of the ball as they have to focus on
something else. But acquiring is only half the story, we need to question whether the purpose
for which those acquisitions were made are manifesting themselves in the time, quality and
quantum that was promised during the due diligence. Be known as the leader who will
persevere through the entire lifecycle of the product, tool, service or project. That will ensure
that your teams follow through.
5. Finally the journey from Capability to Competence is a contact sport. This cannot be done
through emails, memos or documents. Which means, leaders need to identify specific projects
where they co-create task forces, leverage skills/tools of other members and units, work jointly
and share the credit across the entire cross functional task force. Secure leaders dont need
organisation structures, designations or reporting lines to exercise command. Leadership in the
coming decades will be more towards leading without authority and its important that we
start practicing that now.

Criticism to Celebration
The final and perhaps the most important C2C is Criticism to Celebration. As leaders, our years of
training, grooming, eye for details and at times our busy schedules have trained us to focus only
on the areas of improvements or the gaps in work products. While in purely clinical terms that is
good remember we are dealing with humans not machine programs. And humans cherish praise,
commendations, applauses and compliments. They hate censure, disapproval, displeasure and
criticism. So be lavish with your praises and stingy with your reproaches. And here are five steps to
begin doing that.

Five Steps from Criticism to Celebration

1. Every person in your team is a son/daughter/father/mother/breadwinner/hope of their
families and a hero/heroine to their children. Anytime you are tempted to be angry at anyone
of them, just superimpose your own son/daughter/sibling/parent in their shoes and imagine
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how you would feel if someone were to use harsh words on them. Anger is a very poor
substitute for resolute leadership. Use your admonishments very sparingly and your praise very
very lavishly.
2. Before your begin your observations during a review make the effort to catalog and count out
at least 3-4 good things before giving corrective advices or instructions. Take the names of
people who have done good work. Make sure that anyone who has genuinely put in effort is
recognised. Good leaders take only the blame; never the credit. Poor ones do the opposite.
And no one discerns that better or quicker than the followers. Admonish in private and
apologise in public. And apologise often.
3. Nominate a sufficiently senior person as your coach and empower that person to constantly
play wingman and advice you on the Criticism vs Celebration Index. Make sure that this person
has the courage to point out whenever you are straying away from this virtuous path and use
his advice as a coach. Acknowledge your mistakes and make it easier for your teammates and
subordinates to be able to correct you. Be an easy person to talk to. Dont confuse
inaccessibility and sternness with firm leadership.
4. Spend informal time with your teams right down to the junior most person. Invite them
home, create social relationships with peers from other lines of businesses. Mentor some
people, ask for mentorship from others. I need your help is the most powerful way to begin
a relationship. Both ask and give help. And make it a point to acknowledge all the help you get,
no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Remember all other things being equal, people
prefer to work with friends! All things not being equal alsopeople prefer to work with friends.
Make friends.
5. Every day is an occasion to find something to celebrate. Any auditing software, excel sheet, ERP
or boss can find errors, mistakes, shortfalls, blunders, oversights and inaccuracies. But it takes
good leadership to soften every advice, suggestion, and correction with a touch of celebration.
Remember in the next few weeks we will be launching the most ambitious program in India
and perhaps the world. That word JIO is a symbol of living life; to not just its fullest but also
its happiest. And as leaders we are custodians of literally half the life of our teammates and
subordinates. If we do the math, we will realise that our colleagues spend more waking hours
with us than they do with their own families. With that custodianship comes the
responsibility of ensuring that they have as much eagerness to look forward to come to work;
as they have to go back home.
The suggestions above are just that. Suggestions. It is for every leader to internalize the Strategic
Intent of the four C2Cs and convert them into their personal style of leadership. I wish you all the
very best and look forward to working with you, learning from you and enjoying this journey from
C2C.
Please feel free to share this document and its thoughts with your colleagues, friends and associates
who may benefit from its wisdom.
Please mail raghu.raman@ril.com with any ideas, thoughts or suggestions you may have on how
the construct could be improved and/or better internalized.

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