I’ve been listening to the coverage afforded to the Prime Minister as he undertakes his first visit to India, and I’ve also been considering the issues that face companies now assessing their strategy for entry into that vibrant market.
A number of years ago my parents lived in southern India; Dad was Managing Director of a factory owned by a large Indian conglomerate and I visited reasonably often. On one occasion I was struck by the near perfect English used by a visitor from Delhi, whose native tongue was Hindi, to communicate with a local Keralan resident, whose native tongue was Malayalam. Neither could speak each other’s language though they were from the same country. In fact, sometimes I’ve been a little ashamed of my own mangled English when compared to that of many of the beautifully spoken Indians I’ve met.
Our two nations have so many advantages through a shared cultural and language heritage. We have cricket, tea and the civil service (something all Indians are extremely proud of) in common too, but above all else I think we share a humanity that I hope we can practice in business. I’ll explain.
My father retired, came back to the UK and sadly died nine years ago. We used to talk about business in India and speak of the fantastic potential which David Cameron is highlighting on his trip. There aren’t many countries around with 9% growth at the moment. We also spoke of the difficulties, the bureaucracy, the poor infrastructure in parts - all that’s true. But every year since my father died we have received a phone call from the Chairman of the company in India asking how the family is. That’s what I mean by a shared humanity. We are surely two countries that have massive shared cultural experiences but we also put people right at the heart of what we do.
When we remember that the key to business success is through building relationships and maintaining those through good times and bad, we will find the key to unlocking the business potential that India represents now and for many years to come.