Shaping the Future: Aspirational Leadership in India and Beyond

As with any other emerging nation, India has the potential to become an economic powerhouse. But for decades, the country has been perceived as a huge but inapt state, facing severe economic and organizational challenges. Many problems curtail the progress of this nation. Besides a labyrinthine bureaucracy, economic poverty, an exploding population rate and a crumbling infrastructure, one of the areas in which growth has been hampered is leadership. When multinational corporations are investing, the challenges multiply, as the companies often do not have either the patience or the proper leadership techniques for dealing with the unique problems of the country. Rarely, though, are the governments leaders applying the best techniques, either.

As the worlds business climate globalizes and national economies become closely affiliated, India looms today as one of the largest countries in the world to embrace this evolution. Dovetailed with a huge appetite for infrastructure and a vast pool of skilled manpower, it is an enormous market the rest of the world cannot afford to ignore.

Looking at Indias economic transformation of late, Arun Maira, Chairman of The Boston Consulting Group in India, addresses key factors that will affect companies investing there. Getting to the root of Indias problems, he uses techniques of scenario thinking and organizational learning to guide the reader through the complex structures of Indian business and society. He examines the breadth of the problems facing the country, without losing sight of the importance of the human component. This book provides solutions that require many groups with conflicting interests to work together, encouraging action byciting successes that use this collaborative approach and the benefits that they would entail for the future of Indias economy. Weaving throughout the book is also a close examination of leadership issues, exploring a new approach to change that can be adopted by leaders in emerging nations around the world.

Shaping the Future explains how the diverse elements of society in India, and any emerging nation, can work together to mold a better future.

The first book to get at the root cause of India's problems
India is a country of enormous contradictions. On the one hand, India is one of the fastest-growing leaders in the new economy, with burgeoning technological prowess and a myriad of exciting business opportunities. At the same time, it is burdened with enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and a labyrinthine bureaucracy. This book by one of India's leading executives, discusses the country's recent economic transformation and addresses key issues that will not only affect companies investing in India but individuals struggling to cope with these changes. Using techniques of scenario planning and organizational learning, Maira guides the reader through the complex structures of Indian business and society and introduces a new approach to change certain to ignite debate.