7 business lessons from the torrential rains

The popular Indian tourist destination – God’s Own Country, Kerala, a state at the southern tip of India, known internationally for its scenic green landscapes, touristic spots and backwaters, is battered and pulverized. Media call it the worst flood of the century. On an average, Kerala received about 41% more than normal rainfall. After more than two weeks of relentless rain, Kerala is left with over 1 million people in relief camps, and close to 400 reported dead – the number is expected to be much higher, as many areas remain inaccessible. In the mountainous Coorg district which is in the neighboring state of Karnataka – my native state, thousands of people have been stranded because of torrential rains. Landslides and flooding has led to the destruction of homes, bridges, road networks and industries. Thousands were marooned without shelter, food, drinking water and medicines for days.
While operations to restore the affected areas and lives have begun, the natural calamity has taught us a very big lesson. The lessons learnt are as much applicable to business as much to disaster management, climate change and ecological protection.

Here is my take – the 7 business lessons from the torrential rains – What went well, what could be improved?

1. Risk Management – Pro-active Planning and Action –
Extreme heat and extreme cold, droughts and floods are now a growing part of our lives, and India is especially vulnerable to them. Sources claim that the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) had provided adequate prior information of unprecedented rainfall to the concerned authorities. The matter of floods had been discussed by the Centre and the state, but the follow-up action by the state departments lacked the kind of intensity that such a major calamity demanded.
The paradigm of disaster risk management ought to be sufficiently imbibed by the states by paying more attention to pre-disaster planning and implementing policies for climate change. This brings us to the critical issue of preparedness to battle a calamity.

What does this mean for business – We are living in a dynamic environment where market and economy is constantly changing. Pro-active planning and risk management policies have to be well thought of, pre-planned and executed. This can reduce the fire-fighting and the financial, emotional loss that it brings. Periodic risk analysis, pro-active planning and risk mitigation is vital for business sustainability.

2. Consider the needs of important stakeholders –
The mismanagement of hydro-dams, the spread of controversial sand mining operations, and poorly-planned construction on flood-plains and hillsides, are all thought to have contributed to the damage. More than 40 years of deforestation within the state – tree felling on steep hillslopes, uncontrolled sand mining constrained river flows, rapid spread of high-rise buildings on unstable hill slopes weakened the soil and left the area susceptible to flash floods and landslides. This was supplemented by heavy rainfall. Development without adequate consideration for the external environment led to the downfall.

Equating to a business scenario, sometimes businesses are so focused on products and product development that they are blindfolded to the needs of the most important stakeholder – its customer. This is a reminder to build products considering the needs of the customer else it’s a recipe for disaster.

3. Empower the local people –
As the worst rains in almost a century poured down on the region’s Western Ghats mountain ranges, inundating villages and claiming lives, local fishermen came to the aid of those in flooded homes. Over 2,800 are said to have volunteered their boats and services. Defense services took their help to maneuver the tough terrains.
In 2010-2011, renowned ecologist, Professor Madhav Gadgil who chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) studied the impact of development over the environment. Gadgil recommended and emphasized the need for creating a “people’s movement”, with all final development decisions based on extensive inputs from the local communities (gram sabhas). Like Gadgil, Dr Nayanika Mathur, associate professor of anthropology at Oxford University agrees that an answer lies in much greater decentralisation and devolution of power to local communities.

In business we cannot undermine the value of local resources who are well aware of the local culture, local laws, regulations and local needs. They know the nitty grittiness of the region, informal approaches for getting things done which an outsider from centralized headquarters may not be well acquainted with. One size fits all approach does not scale. Capitalize on the strength of the local resource and empower them to provide the local know-how and support.

4. Get resourceful –
People got resourceful during the calamity. When power supply across the state was disrupted by rains, which meant no communication – dead smartphones and laptops, one house acted as a local radio station to support the army. Another youngster who had internet connectivity used facebook and social media campaigns to reach out to people for help. A person whose house was not so badly impacted made his house a de facto refugee camp for families. People became very resourceful and extended help the best way they could.

What can we learn from this? This demonstrates that each of us are resourceful. We just need to tap into our inner potential. In business, often times this potential is not tapped. Why not utilize the infinite creativity and resourcefulness of the employees? Schedule time on a periodic basis for creative brainstorming to brainstorm different ideas for doing the things that you regularly do and see if any improvements can be made!

5. Resilience –
Tough times are part of life. In spite of losing everything to the disaster, people showed up with resilience. In many ways they have to start all over again but they gathered the strength to move through.

Same is with business. However well you plan sometimes, the season is rough. What is critical is to accept the reality, learn from the experience and move on. As Eric Greitens in his book Resilience tells us, it’s not so much about bouncing back as it is about moving through. Resilience is about moving through hardship to happiness, through pain to wisdom, through suffering to strength. Build resilience in the DNA of the company to move through rough patches.

6. Collaboration –
Nothing great can be achieved single handedly. Search and rescue operations launched by India’s armed forces included units of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard, with fleets of boats, motorboats, aircrafts and helicopters in order to save thousands stranded on roof tops, trees, upper floors of houses and elsewhere. They were assisted by other central forces. The National Disaster Response Force deployed close to 16 teams to provide support to local authorities to provide relief and rescue work. The state agencies, local fishermen and voluntary organizations also joined the rescue mission. This rescue and disaster management operation was a testimony of unity in diversity, of collaborative work.

Organizations that desire to move form surviving to thriving need to build a culture of collaboration where teams collaborate in spite of differences, where the vision of the company is shared by the employees, where the employees believe in the core values of the company.

I like Jeff Bezos philosophy about ‘disagree and commit’. In a company, employees might have different views and different approaches for doing things. But at the end of the day, commitment to the vision of the company is critical to achieve the goal irrespective of the differences… disagree and commit. Its important to get the buy-in of the employees to collaborate and commit to the common goal, to the vision in spite of different view points. Get everybody in the same page, get their buy-in to the direction that you are going. If there is no commitment, then there would be forces pulling the goal in opposite directions – then nothing works, it is fatal.

7. Compassion –
If there is one emotion that is stood out when talking to people about the calamity, it is compassion. People exuberated compassion, people cutting across political, linguistic, regional and religious divides rushed to help. There was a local fisherman who went on all fours in knee-deep waters, offering his back for women to step on to climb into a rescue boat. In this time of trial, people from all walks of life have demonstrated courage and compassion by helping one another to safety, shelter, and survival.
As Maya Angelou says, ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

Compassion is vital also in an organization. I believe organizations can move from ordinary to extraordinary when you show compassion, when you empathize with fellow beings, customers, suppliers and all stakeholders. When you imbibe compassion and empathy in your culture, your customers will want to do repeat business with you, your employees will be loyal, your suppliers will want to stay with you, your investors will be happy. You create a better world. Make compassion and empathy your competitive advantage.

P.S. Data about the rescue operations and losses is sourced from the media.