Illusions!!
Someone has said, "The trouble with illusions is that you know you had them, only when they are broken."
I distinctly remember how much praise my Marketing Professors at Cranfield MBA used to shower on a big Retailer. There were enough case studies to showcase their prowess at understanding consumers, etc. etc.
Then a few years after I graduated, I ended up as an external consultant for the same Retailer. I was part of a 4-5 month long diagnostic to review their current processes for a specific function. The more I got to see "inside" that big retailer, the more disappointment I experienced. I really wanted to bring in my Marketing professors to show them the "real story"..but of course, that cannot happen. However, I was saddened because my illusion was broken.
During the course of my career over 19 years now, I have been fascinated by a few, large MNCs from the FMCG / Retail sector - primarily because most of my Industry experience comes from these sectors.
A few years later, after that first experience, I got another opportunity to lead a consulting engagement with another very large firm. Funnily enough, I underwent exactly the same experience as before. It was hugely disappointing to see the mess people create within such large and successful organisations. I wonder every day - if these organisations deliver so much success despite such appalling mess, what would their level of success be, if they weren't so messy? Do they realise how much potential exists to make significant improvements in their performance?
In parallel, however, I now also fear - if I stay a Consultant for too long, I might lose all respect for such large organisations. The more I get to see their inside, the more disappointed I would be.
Would you want to know that you too have had illusions? Isn't ignorance really a bliss?
I distinctly remember how much praise my Marketing Professors at Cranfield MBA used to shower on a big Retailer. There were enough case studies to showcase their prowess at understanding consumers, etc. etc.
Then a few years after I graduated, I ended up as an external consultant for the same Retailer. I was part of a 4-5 month long diagnostic to review their current processes for a specific function. The more I got to see "inside" that big retailer, the more disappointment I experienced. I really wanted to bring in my Marketing professors to show them the "real story"..but of course, that cannot happen. However, I was saddened because my illusion was broken.
During the course of my career over 19 years now, I have been fascinated by a few, large MNCs from the FMCG / Retail sector - primarily because most of my Industry experience comes from these sectors.
A few years later, after that first experience, I got another opportunity to lead a consulting engagement with another very large firm. Funnily enough, I underwent exactly the same experience as before. It was hugely disappointing to see the mess people create within such large and successful organisations. I wonder every day - if these organisations deliver so much success despite such appalling mess, what would their level of success be, if they weren't so messy? Do they realise how much potential exists to make significant improvements in their performance?
In parallel, however, I now also fear - if I stay a Consultant for too long, I might lose all respect for such large organisations. The more I get to see their inside, the more disappointed I would be.
Would you want to know that you too have had illusions? Isn't ignorance really a bliss?
posted by Sandeep Gupta at
3:24 pm
|
0 comments
