| Change rules of game: Intel CEO to IT honchos |
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Futuristic business plans and technology are critical for the survival of IT companies and in investing in human resources like in the case of India, says Intel CEO Craig Barrett.
Futuristic business plans and technology are critical for the survival of IT companies and in investing in human resources like in the case of India, says Intel CEO Craig Barrett.
An interaction here with Barrett turned out to be a learning session for Indian IT honchos. In an hour-long pep talk at the Nasscom CEO Forum, Barrett, 65, spelt out a new mantra for the survival of the fittest.
Follow the rules of the game and try to change them in an honest manner to support your business plans. Before changing the rules, it is important that companies first follow them with innovation, R&D and right business plans, Barrett told about 100 IT leaders during his one-day visit to Bangalore Friday.
Referring to the lessons learnt from the dotcom meltdown in the late 1990s and the implosion of a few major corporations like Enron, Worldcom and others in the US due to lack of corporate governance, Barrett said the reality was quite different from what it appeared to be then.
In this context, Barrett cited the survival of a few global firms such as Amazon.com and eBay in the Internet space, thanks to their foresight on business plans, combined with appropriate technologies to drive growth and stay ahead of competition.
Most successful firms have a way of changing the rules of the game if they want to grow and remain competitive globally.
The dotcom era had taught us that business plans should make sense. Though there was an over-exuberance of business plans, entrepreneurship and high capital infusion then, some of the obvious things required to compete and survive were actually missing. These are: products, customers, source of revenue and source of profits, Barrett disclosed.
At the same time, global firms such as Yahoo and Google, which had only marginal business plans, succeeded in staying afloat thanks to their innovative technology.
Barrett said Intel had a right business plan spelt out in just 176 words, way back in 1968. Basically, it meant integrated circuit (IC) technology is wonderful, we will find users for it. We will also find some smart people to work for the company.
Though funded with a few million dollars, Intel’s business plan was modified from the initial idea. But its technology was efficient to drive its growth and succeed subsequently.
For those of you who are entrepreneurally inclined, I want to stress that you must at least have a wonderful technology to stay put and succeed in the market, Barrett asserted.
There are several instances of how it is difficult to grow market share without making the transition. Companies with huge market share will defend it by increasing their efforts in marketing, advertising etc.
But what they may not be able to fight is the technology transition in which they are not participating, especially when an alternative technology challenges their dominance, Barrett pointed out.
History shows see how certain sectors failed to make this interesting transition. For instance, mainframe computers took a long time to make a transition to personal computers.
The other aspect of the basic rule is investment in human resources and R&D. There are many examples in this area as well. Intel’s business plan is one. If ignored, they can often trouble a business plan.
India and Asia in general are a case in point, with a good education system, bright engineers and computer scientists coming out of universities.
No wonder the world has come at India’s doorstep to employ these people. Employing the best and the brightest people is typically the fastest way to succeed, Barrett added.
If competition forces you to change, then you won’t like the result. You will like the change only if you change ahead of being forced to change, he noted.
--Indo-Asian News Service
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South Africa were 154 for four wickets at tea on the opening day of the first Test against India at the Green Pak Stadium here Saturday.
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--Indo-Asian News Service
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