However, the book does warm up to things more substantive. For instance, how Lafley resisted the temptation to get into a cost-slashing, restructuring drive — the type of actions any new CEO of a troubled organisation takes to prove he is doing something about his company’s poor state. Instead, P&G took a long-term view by transforming itself from a ‘technology-push’ model to a ‘customer-pull’ model.

What P&G did or did not do is widely interspersed with heavy doses of oft-repeated and by-now-clichéd innovations by some of the other successful global organisations such as Nokia, GE, Apple, L’Oreal, 3M, Dell or H-P. While some of the examples are refreshing, the details about most others are less insightful and have been thrown around in the book to give it a sense of all-roundedness. Instead, they end up boring the reader, harassing him to search for how P&G turned around. But despite this, the book is worth reading simply because the information finally gleaned provides valuable insights into the behemoth that is P&G.

Lafley and his team went about reviving P&G in the most methodical way. Instead of trying to understand consumers from their oral-care, hair-care or laundry requirements separately, the company started researching the household as a whole. With programmes such as ‘Living It’, P&G began shopping with its consumers, and began living with them in their homes. This intimate understanding enabled the company to bring in innovations that otherwise would not have been possible. For instance, the Downy Single Rinse was a hugely successful product born from the understanding that most Mexican women used softener in their clothes. However, shortage of water meant their six-step process of wash-rinse-rinse, add softener-rinse-rinse was not only time-consuming but strenuous. Downy Single Rinse reduced this process to just three process: wash-add softener-rinse.

Another programme called ‘Working It’ let P&G employees work behind the counter in small shops, giving them a peek into why shoppers buy or do not buy a product. Around 70 per cent of all P&G executives went through at least a ‘Living It’ or ‘Working It’ experience. Take the case of Gillette, which was acquired by P&G in 2005. When the company was set to roll out the three-blade razor Mach3, its researchers were focused on the three blades it had, but the marketers were not enthused. Project Manager Mary Pesce’s comment about the tussle between the researchers and marketers sums it up: “The key moment was when we stopped obsessing over the technologies and thought about what it did.” Gillette’s message to the potential buyer eventually was: the closest shave ever, with least irritation.

As expected, Ram Charan’s association with the book has brought in a lot of examples from India into the book, such as Marico and the Nokia-HCL tie-up in India for distribution. But the most interesting is the one where Charan talks about himself and his family’s innovation at their shoe shop in Hapur in Uttar Pradesh: how the family, which did not know the concept of a ‘brand’, innovated and launched a shoe called Mahaveer (named after a relative) which was aimed at the upper end of the trading community in Hapur, and how the product became the second-highest selling product in the city. And the money from this funded Charan’s education abroad.

Here are some of the gems from the book that could set you thinking: “The CEO must also be the CIO — the chief innovation officer”; “Leaders of innovation dream differently, not just looking at the world as it is but what it can be”; “Several years ago, P&G realised that though it talked to a lot of people, it wasn’t really hearing them,” indicating how so often the goals of consumer research get overlooked. And there are many more. The only downside in The Game Changer is that the narrative drags ever so often in the book. It is a very, very slow read, largely because of a surfeit of management theories stuffed into the book.

Bansal, an IIM-A alumnus herself, captures these aspects in fine detail as she presents each case study. While each case is good individually, the author fails to stitch all the varied experiences together into one narrative. Nevertheless, Bansal does bring out the ‘matter of fact’ developments with a lot of objectivity. Each case reflects the seriousness of efforts made by these alumnus in meeting the challenges and fighting for their dream.

Whether it is the story of R. Subramanian’s Subhiksha, Sunil Handa’s Eklavya Education Foundation or Madan Mohanka’s Tega Industries, the author has presented comprehensively the ingredients that go into the making of a successful business person.

The case studies are a good mix of well-known personalities such as Shantanu Prakash of Educomp, Deep Kalra of Makemytrip.com and Sanjeev Bikchandani of Naukri.com, and others such as Anand Halve of Chlorophyll (a brand consultancy) and Vijay Mahajan’s Basix. It is an interesting book, with the author managing to ‘just keep it simple’.
M. Rajendran

The chapters are pretty much in the vein of the series of half-hour episodes that they made for Indian television — short, easy to read, and over-before-you-know-it. While informative and mildly pleasing, the narratives — whether they are about Kapadokya in Turkey, the Andamans, Badrinath temples, Palampur and Goa in India or Interlaken in Switzerland — do leave you only vaguely acquainted with the place being written about, despite their attention to a couple of details.

But what is infectious is the excitement and passion that underlies the writing of the Gantzers. Talking about their experience, they say, “Your breath catches with excitement, the little hairs on your arms begin to rise in a frisson of amazement, your heart beats faster — all these are the effects of adrenaline, sharpening your reaction to a travel experience.” And for them, travel writing “is the art of discovering the magic of ordinary persons, places and things”.

Looking Beyond is perfect for those who are looking to expand their horizons and undertake travels beyond their usual weekend getaways, but will leave the seasoned traveller or a keen sociologist wanting for more. Much more.
Sumati Nagrath

I enjoy reading a variety of books, which are either recommended by friends and colleagues or are picked up from bookstores across airports. Some of the other books on my reading list are Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus and Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.

(Businessword Issue 07-13 Oct 2008)