The Tipping Point

As I talk with friends in the top IT companies of our country, I hear horror stories about how these companies which were beacons of hope and stalwarts of the industry at one time are now actually rotting from the inside. The entrepreneurs who set them up had a vision, a work ethic, a hunger for excellence and a huge dream to make it big. They drove the people, inspired them, had solution oriented, go getter attitudes and that is the whole reason they rose to the top. Which also meant that they became richer and richer and richer till they reached a point where they no longer had the motivation to be the drivers - they instead became the “mentors”. The building became too tall to stand by itself, the body too heavy to carry its own load, the ship too big to ever be able to take a turn.

When I started the business and we were 30 people in the PASE meeting at Platinum we were a young, growing organization. When we became a 120 people group running our own open at Emerald, we were a force to reckon with. But today at 2500 people to functions, we stand the same risk that these companies face. Too tall to stand, too heavy to run, too big to turn. But our situation, despite being similar in some ways, is totally different in a lot of ways. The biggest difference is that we are not an organisation of employees; we are instead an organisation of “owners”. Owners who use organisational principles of coordination, mentorship, submission, unity, pull and so on to work harmoniously and as one cohesive unit.

At a Platinum level we launch a new startup every time. A startup which can work the way it wants to, think the way it wants to and grow at the speed at which it wants to. Till it does not hamper the rights of other startups that is. Which is marvellous!! Which is a unique model in the world of business - the Semco way. It seems like it is a perfect model. And it is. The only hitch being that the CEO of this startup has to be a leader, a visionary, a hard working dreamer, a believer. Unless he decides to develop his own independent thinking, his own style, his own vision - obviously within the framework of the bigger organisation that he’s a part of - he can never take his startup to great heights. He has to think like an owner which is a challenge most of the time since we are all so used to being told what to do. He has to start taking full ownership of the results in his organisation - the good, the bad and the ugly. He has to develop the attitude of “the buck stops here” - not blocking the lines of communication, but developing the character and the skills to be able to solve all the issues at his level. 

And only those organisations which are led by “leaders” will move to the next level. The rest will automatically start going backwards until somebody in the middle or at the bottom decides to take ownership and take charge of their company. You need to decide whether your company is going to become the beacon of hope or will it vanish into the oblivion - just a faint memory of what could have been.