6 Key Lessons from Polls ’24 for Corporate India’s Governance and Strategy

The third NDA government’s experience holds a number of lessons in governance and strategy for corporate India.

1. Stay Competitive

Agility at the Top: Even leaders need to be alert and agile to retain pole position. For instance, Asian Paints is feeling the heat from increasing competition in the paint industry with new entrants, highlighting the need for competitive agility.

Benefit of Competition: Collaboration with competitors can generate mutual benefits. For example, in-licensed products are sold by domestic pharma companies, enabling them to compete with the very MNCs they collaborate with.

2. Effective Communication

Internal Communication: Proper communication channels within the organization are crucial. Misinformation should be avoided, and managers should listen to insights from people in the trenches, ensuring effective communication.

External Communication: How top leadership communicates a message to the world and uses social media effectively has a significant impact.

3. Consumer Insights

Know Your Consumer: Understanding consumer choices is essential for product market fit, pricing, and packaging. Strategies may differ for urban vs. rural consumers or Gen Z vs. boomers. These consumer insights are critical for success.

4. Value Creation

Consistent Value: Products and services should consistently create value for all consumers. In online shopping, one negative review can offset several positive ones, emphasizing the importance of value creation.

Independent Directors: Independent directors bring external expertise, enhancing governance strategies, transparency, diversity, and innovation. Generally, heterogeneous boards perform better. Independent directors contribute significantly to governance and strategy.

5. Innovation and Adaptation

Embrace Innovation: Continuously innovate to stay relevant. Adapting to new technologies and market trends ensures long-term success in business innovation.

Adaptation: Businesses must adapt to changing market conditions, consumer preferences, and regulatory environments to maintain competitiveness.

6. Consistency in Performance

Consistency: Stakeholders value consistency in performance, conduct, and communication. Investors and all other stakeholders reward consistent business performance improvement, highlighting the importance of consistent performance.

Trust and Reliability: Consistent delivery on promises builds stakeholder trust and reliability, leading to sustained business success.