Harsh
Mariwala
Track Timing
-
Formative years (04:06) |
Tactful separation (07:40) |
Remove Escape Buttons (18:35) |
Breaking the Catch-22 of mediocre talent (24:50) |
Growing through feedback (30:02) |
Unlocking the power of the collective (38:03) |
Markers of good talent (43:21) |
Thinking about Next Gen (01:04:41) |
Playing to Potential (01:07:25) |
Founder - Marico
Harsh Mariwala is Founder and Chairman of Marico, an FMCG giant well known for brands like Parachute and Saffola. He has recently Co-Authored the book - Harsh Realities (Published by Penguin Random House) along with Management Guru, Ram Charan. The book is a story of how Harsh broke away from the shackles of family-run Bombay Oil Industries Ltd, which was a commodities business to set up a professionally run Marico including all the trials and tribulations along the way.
Some of the themes we covered included how he tactfully separated from his family business, how he broke away from the shackles of mediocre talent that often haunt SMEs, his evolution along the way as a leader, his transition to a Professional CEO and how he has managed to assemble a set of advisors in his Board and otherwise to guide him on his journey.
Published in Dec 2021.
Nuggets from the
Conversation
Formative years
Harsh speaks about how his personality was shaped in the early years. He speaks about diverse interests his family members had (ranging across Indian Classical Music, Sailing, Golf etc) that informed his thinking. He also speaks about values such as frugality, tolerance and consensus building one builds while growing up in a joint family construct.
Tactful separation
Harsh speaks about how he tactfully separated from the rest of the family. He speaks about the role that Mr. Bipin Shah (appointed as a Trusted Mediator) played in moving the conversations forward. He also speaks about how some family events, sometimes, can serve as an opportunity to revive the relationships.
Remove Escape Buttons
Harsh speaks about his belief in Prof Ram Charan’s maxim – Remove Escape Buttons. Harsh speaks about how he leveraged this insight in the way he went about pursuing the International Business and implementing the ERP system in Marico.
Breaking the Catch-22 of mediocre talent
Harsh speaks about how he broke the cycle of mediocre talent that a lot of companies struggle to do. He speaks about hiring his CHRO from XLRI and how he went about building the quality of talent from there.
Growing through feedback
Harsh speaks about how he has grown as a leader over the years and how he has gone about seeking feedback from the people around him. He speaks about the criticality of setting the right climate for feedback for people to tell him what they think of him.
Unlocking the power of the collective
Harsh speaks about how he thinks about assembling a good quality Board and extracting value from them.
Markers of good talent
Harsh speaks about how he looks for good talent where it is at an Executive Level or at a Board level. He speaks about the mix of passion, determination and perseverance that he looks for in the individuals he hires.
Thinking about Next Gen
Harsh speaks about how his children are charting their journey. He goes on to say that he would like them to make choices on their own terms based on their interests and skills.
In Summary - Playing to Potential
Harsh speaks about how he focuses on doubling down on his strengths than wallowing in the development areas. He also speaks about the criticality of seeking feedback as we go through our journeys.
