The dramatic growth in the Indian economy, and with it the reduction of poverty and the emergence of millions into the “middle class”, is extraordinarily heartening.
My work in India and with Indians over many years has shown that entrepreneurship is right at the heart of the culture. In America, Indians are expected to be extremely rich. According to my friend Alyque Padamsee’s experience in Houston, on learning that he was Indian, a taxi driver asked Alyque (above), “Are you a billionaire?”
Of course, the cost base is still relatively low and educational levels high. Plus there’s so much energy deployed, physical and intellectual. So will growth continue unrestricted into the foreseeable future?
A factor that I envision becoming more and more of a barrier is the extremely hierarchical social structure, which operates within companies as elsewhere. In an article in Market Leader magazine (Summer 2008), Jitender Dabas wrote: “[Indians] either look up or down at other people; there cannot be a third way.”
I notice that in meetings Indians are reluctant to speak until they know the boss’s point of view on the topic at hand. And even then they are reluctant to contradict, even a little.
If change does not come about, this aspect of the culture will become a major block to innovation. And the ability to innovate will become more and more important, as people costs rise.
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