Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 9)

By guest author Tony Scott

The Value of a Global Business Mindset

Raju: You know, that’s the exciting thing about America isn’t it? It’s one of the few countries in the world I can think of that has these sorts of umbilical cord connections. I mean, Bangalore is probably more connected to Silicon Valley than to any other city in India.

Tony: Yes, in many ways.  But to make an operation work across thousands of miles, multiple time zones and different languages, you have to have people who understand both cultures.

Raju: There is something to say for that, you know, about America and Silicon Valley. I just love this part of it, these connections. In some ways, Beijing or Shanghai are better connected to Silicon Valley than to other cities within China.

Tony: Yes, it’s the mental concept of, “We are going to start a company, we are going to make it successful, and we are going to drive something rather than sitting back and taking the “safe” route.”  In many ways, Shanghai, Beijing, and Bangaolore are more like Silicon Valley than the rest of the United States is like Silicon Valley.  We do need to be careful about generalizing about Silicon Valley and assuming all of the U.S. is exactly like Silicon Valley however, because it is different from the rest of America.

Raju: Of course.

Tony: We get used to the idea that whenever we go into a meeting here in Silicon Valley, we will look like a United Nations meeting [laughs]. That’s not always the way it works in much of the rest of United States.  Of course even in other parts of the U.S., we’re generally still more diverse and open to that diversity than many other countries – and that is a strong point for us in building and leading truly global organizations.

Raju: I think you put it very well, the essence of what I was talking about early on. For a company in our space – IT services – having a Silicon Valley-like headquarters management team allows us to do certain things better, especially as the market becomes increasingly globalized and emerging markets become important. I wouldn’t want to trade places in terms of the ability to build a truly global management team with a lot of other countries on that score.

Tony: I think that the “Silicon Valley-like” management team allows you to create a cultural approach from the top that then goes out all way down to your organization. What I always often ask clients is, “Do you really want to implement a change in your management approach? Because if so, recognize that the first thing many companies have to do is change the management.” The problem is that you can’t start from the bottom, you have to start from the top down in terms of asking yourself: “What are our values, how do we work, and how do we operate?”

Raju This core analysis is very, very important. That’s not just “motherhood and apple pie.” You have to make it a point to see what people think, and work to establish common values. For example, when we got to about fifty employees, I went through a formal process of engaging my employees and saying, “This is the kind of company we want to be.” Because prior to that, we all had some idea of what our values were, but I wanted to solidify it. This is very important to me.

Tony: To work, they need to be universal values across the board within your company, but most importantly, they have to be articulated and reinforced constantly.

Raju: Yes. Some of the ways we implement programs are a bit different in different places, like the one I talked about, bringing one’s parents to work. I probably wouldn’t think of doing a program like that here in the United States, where my children have grown up. I couldn’t get my own children to agree to such a thing. [Laughs.]

Tony: Yes – I’m sure that would never fly here! Thanks, Raju, it’s been great talking to you.

This segment is part 9 in the series : Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic
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