Consulting Network » india http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:39:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Partner with XIMB’s Strategy and Consulting Consortium http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/partner-with-ximbs-strategy-and-consulting-consortium/2008/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/partner-with-ximbs-strategy-and-consulting-consortium/2008/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 05:22:36 +0000 Mohit http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2008
Constrat – Transforming Strategy

Who says B-Schools are simply temples of learning? From hereon, B-Schools wont remain ‘just B-Schools’ and MBA students would no longer be ‘just students’. Gone would be the concept of Corporate biggies & Companies competing with their rivals ‘only’ on the industrial floor. Companies would bid, outbid, pick up stakes, outperform, leverage partnerships, stage alliances, fight for a board position and all this on the floor of CONSTRAT, the upcoming Strategy & Consulting Consortium of the Xavier Institute of Management Bhubnaneswar (XIMB)

The Concept

“Strategy cannot be taught, it can only be demonstrated!” With this notion at the helm, XIMB now unveils CONSTRAT, the student run Strategy & Consulting Consortium of XIMB which would enable Strategy & Consulting enthusiasts (Management Consulting Companies, Consultants & consulting aspirants) to come together and leverage the combined value proposition in a ‘win-win’ situation. CONSTRAT’s operating model is based on a virtual variant of the Private Limited Corporation model which would enable students aspiring to pursue a career in Management Consulting to learn the tricks of the trade from the industry honchos via a hands-on simulation approach.

Objectives

Being a strategy oriented consortium, CONSTRAT’s model itself reflects strategic glare in the form of ‘never-seen-before’ framework designed to hit the five pronged target of:

  • Helping consulting aspirants at XIMB gain insight into the functioning of the Management Consulting industry
  • Bridging the corporate-academia skillgap, specific to the Management Consulting industry
  • Enabling the Management Consulting industry (Consulting Companies & individual consultants) to become major stakeholders of activities on the premier B-School circuit
  • Facilitating the consortium partners (companies, alumni, media groups, alumni & exchange groups) to leverage the combined value proposition offered by one another via an exhaustive model.
  • Spreading awareness of the functioning & value proposition of the Management Consulting industry amongst the corporate spectrum, student community and knowledge groups

Partners

  • Top league Management Consulting firms
  • Senior Management Consultants
  • XIMB’s high profile Alumni base working in the Management Consulting industry
  • Electronic, Print & Web Media Groups
  • Exchange Groups

Events & Activities

  • Simulation workshops based on the functioning of the Management Consulting industry
  • Knowledge Transition sessions
  • Simulation of Corporate Restructuring activities (M&A, Change Management, Strategy restructuring) via the consortium’s virtual Private Company model
  • International Case Competitions
  • Consulting Conferences & Networking events
  • Career guidance for XIMB’s Management Consulting aspirants

But, what exactly is the framework which would enable Consulting companies, consultants, media groups and others to gain from each others’ value proposition?

A bit of patience is all that is required…

CONSTRAT..coming soon

Update: 19 June 2010 – Click here to download the Brochure and the Application Form

For more details contact us using the form below or call us on

Ashutosh Didwania: +91 977 608 1627

Monodip Chakravarty: +91 943 820 0360

Consulting Network is the exclusive social media partner for XIMB’s Strategy and Consulting Consortium. You too can partner with us. Email us to find out more – contactus@consultingnetwork.co.in

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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/partner-with-ximbs-strategy-and-consulting-consortium/2008/feed/ 0 Tips by Entwistle on fulfilling the Mckinsey/Goldman Sachs Dream http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/tips-by-entwistle-on-fulfilling-the-mckinseygoldman-sachs-dream/1254/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/tips-by-entwistle-on-fulfilling-the-mckinseygoldman-sachs-dream/1254/#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:39:44 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1254 L Brooks Entwistle, MD and CEO of Goldman Sachs (India) Securities offered following tips to aspirants planning to carve a career in firms like Mckinsey and Goldman Sachs

1. Be a team player, not a solo star: “Goldman Sachs doesn’t hire super stars who cannot work in teams. It is just not our culture! We look for people who are very good at their job but are able to work in teams, and share credits.”

2. Deliver from Day 1: “When I joined Goldman Sachs after completing MBA at Harvard Business School, I was meeting clients on Day 1! That’s what we expect from our new recruits. To meet clients and start offering value to the organization. This requires a strong sense of business judgment.”

3. Manage complexity: “With globalization of products and services, businesses are very complex today. Can you manage the risks and complexity?”

This was reported by MBAUniverse.com, Entwistle was speaking at the 21st AIMS Management Education Convention of which MBAUniverse.com was the ‘Web Partner’


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/tips-by-entwistle-on-fulfilling-the-mckinseygoldman-sachs-dream/1254/feed/ 0 India’s department of posts (DoP) shortlists Accenture, EY , KPMG, McKinsey and PwC for 1bn Contract http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/india%e2%80%99s-department-of-posts-dop-shortlists-accenture-ey-kpmg-mckinsey-and-pwc-for-1bn-contract/1237/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/india%e2%80%99s-department-of-posts-dop-shortlists-accenture-ey-kpmg-mckinsey-and-pwc-for-1bn-contract/1237/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:23:18 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1237 India’s department of posts (DoP) is set to spend up to $1 billion on its IT-led business revamp over the next five years. DoP has already short-listed Accenture, Ernst &Young , KPMG, McKinsey and PwC as potential consultants for the project, DOP will be announcing one of the above mentioned consulting biggies as the partner for selecting a tech vendor and also defining the scope of 3-5 year IT revamp by end of this month. DoP will select different vendors for system integration, software , data centres and network management.

ET reports “DoP’s IT revamp is a classic example of old, legacy systems and software applications being unable to cope with rising operational pressures and newer business models. The department has been using software applications such as Meghdoot developed in-house for over a decade. With the government seeking to evolve DoP as a well diversified services provider offering postal, insurance and financial solutions across remote parts of the country, there is a need to upgrade the systems”.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/india%e2%80%99s-department-of-posts-dop-shortlists-accenture-ey-kpmg-mckinsey-and-pwc-for-1bn-contract/1237/feed/ 0 BCG already did it, Now Mckinsey and Bain to help L&T http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-already-did-it-now-mckinsey-and-bain-to-help-lt/1172/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-already-did-it-now-mckinsey-and-bain-to-help-lt/1172/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:47:20 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1172 Consulting biggies, BCG, Bain and Mckinsey are back in the limelight.

Engineering and construction giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has already implemented two five-year plans to reposition the company, which was heavily into engineering, procurement and construction segments, with a large exposure to commodity businesses such as cement and ready-mix concrete, to a more focused, value-added engineering company

L&T had earlier sought help from BCG to devise a five year plan, as per the plan, L&T divested its cement business in favor of the Aditya Birla Group. Recently, L&T also divested its ready-mix concrete business in favor of Lafarge SA.
The second five-year plan will get over by March 31, 2010. As per the second plan, L&T’s target was to reach a business volume of Rs 35,000 crore annually. L&T had managed to complete Rs 38,000 crore last year and expects to cross Rs 42,000 crore this year. Thus achieving 15-20 per cent more than the proposed target.

L&T will initiate its third round of major business restructuring in 2010 and has appointed consultants McKinsey and Bain to guide it, as also in the succession plan, Further, L&T’s chairman A M Naik also plans to retire in September 2012

Following News Media Article were referred for this story

 L&T restructuring plan to be implemented next year


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-already-did-it-now-mckinsey-and-bain-to-help-lt/1172/feed/ 0 BCG all set to revive BSNL http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-all-set-to-revive-bsnl/1160/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-all-set-to-revive-bsnl/1160/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:18:29 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1160 Various Media sources have reported that India”s second largest telecom operator by overall subscriber base, state-owned BSNL, which has seen massive erosion in net profits and is surviving only on interests from its cash reserves, is putting up a four-pronged revival plan based on the recommendations of Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

According to Financial Express, as per the strategy, the company will focus on four key operations–consumer mobility, broadband, enterprise business and new business which includes infrastructure sharing.

According to BCG, BSNL’s enterprise business is a weak link in its entire operational chain. For instance, the BCG report has said, “There are significant gaps in the company’s ‘go to market’ approach. There is almost no customer segmentation and special service level agreement over large enterprises.” A company executive said that in order to revive its enterprise business, the company would now address the issue at three levels–product sales, service delivery and service assurance. Customers would be divided into platinum, gold and silver accounts with special service-level agreements within each segment.

Deccan Herald reported that The telecom giant is losing money, market share and its brand pull. It is a victim of official bungling & political wrangling. Urgent & sweeping changes are needed to restore its lost glory

Further, it is reported that one of the major reasons for BSNL’s poor profit in 2008-09 was a sharp increase meeting enhanced salary commitments due to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission. Yet another reason was high depreciation charges of Rs 8,500 crore in 2008-09 and Rs 9,696 crore in 2007-08. BSNL has claimed that its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation (EBIDTA), was positive at Rs 7,000 crore.
Intense competition following the opening up of the telecom sector to mobile operators, is another reason that has caused BSNL’s downfall.

It has also been reported that there is a proposal to merge BSNL with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) which operates in Delhi and Mumbai.

Following News Media Articles were referred for this Story

BCG Scripts BSNL revival

BSNL calling a wrong number

Raja to review BSNL’s profit plunge, IPO plans


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-all-set-to-revive-bsnl/1160/feed/ 0 Escaping the politics in an organization http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/escaping-the-politics-in-an-organization/1120/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/escaping-the-politics-in-an-organization/1120/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:05:45 +0000 Sandeep Chatterjee http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1120 During our B-school days, we had a chapter in Organization Behavior named ‘Power and Politics’. At that time we used to laugh at the concept but having spent substantial period in the corporate world, I will advice people to take it very seriously because ultimately that will be the most important chapter. Typical to any setup where group of individuals flock together for a cause (whatever it may be), there is always a power struggle involved and people resort to politics for immediate gains. Though it may be good in the short run, there are enough instances that in the long run it proves disastrous for everyone. Rather than a win-lose game, it becomes a lose-lose gain.

Many a times the consultant is caught in this power struggle and becomes the scapegoat when one person vents out his frustration on the other.  While there is no magic formula and that it is easier said than done, consultants need to stay clear of all this because the mess becomes uglier and uglier.

Some of the ground rules which may help:

(1)    Always take a neutral stand

(2)    Mark your mails to all concerned so that there is no room for anybody left out

(3)    Maintain a transparency in your dealings e.g. you have been hired by the IT team and whenever you meet the business, keep the IT team in loop

(4)    Keep your eyes and ears open but your mouth shut when you are listening to the view points

(5)    Hold on to your values and ethics. You will command a lot of respect


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/escaping-the-politics-in-an-organization/1120/feed/ 0 Open Forum: Skills Required to Break Into Consulting/Strategy Roles http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/open-forum-skills-required-to-break-into-consultingstrategy-roles/966/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/open-forum-skills-required-to-break-into-consultingstrategy-roles/966/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:37 +0000 Mohit http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=966 Following is an open forum discussion picked from our Group.

Mayank Gupta asked :

What all skills do I need to build to get through Consulting/Strategy industry. I am an MBA Marketing and B.Tech (Mechanical and Automation Engineering) fresher with no prior experience.

In these times of recession, every where I read they have been telling to build up your skill sets. I want to work in the companies involved Management Consulting/Corporate Strategy and Planning for eg. AT Kearney, McKinsey, Bain & Co. But the jobs in these kind of companies are hard to come by these days, esp. for a fresher.

I am an MBA (Marketing) + B.Tech (Mechanical and Automation Engineering) graduate with no prior experience. I would like to know what all skills do I need to build and also, what all software programs do I need to know. Please provide your valuable suggestions

Prashanth Krishnaswami, Management Student, Content Developer replied…

I am no expert but what I’m going to be telling you here is reliable hearsay. I think it is close to impossible for a fresher to break into any of the companies you’ve listed above unless that fresher is from a country’s top 5 business schools.

However, sometime down the line (say around 6-8 years), after you’ve worked with some tier 2 business consulting companies and have networked with a lot of people in the consulting business, you can break into any of the biggies. But all that depends purely on what you do in that time (6-8 years). The 6-8 year period is only a safe period I’m quoting here for you. If you are exceptionally good, you could do it within half that time too.

Some more reliable hearsay tells me that McK has cut recruitment numbers even in IIMs by a significant percentage. So, now would be a really bad time to try to break into any of the biggies, anyway.

Think on those lines. You would understand my point.

Akil Laxman, Consultant  replied…

I would concur with most of what prashant has said. The strategy consults that you want to get into recruit only from IIM-ABC and that too in small nos . If this is the path that you want , I suggest that you develop yourself as a area expert by working with a few tier 2-3 consultancies and apply to them once you have a lot of relevant experience .

As I am aware of your current situation ( I read another thread) , I would suggest that you join a start-up consultancy for now . The pay might not be great but It’ll definitely put you on the path to where you want to go. Start-up consultancies are mushrooming all over the place. Be sure to choose one where the founder is backed by good experience in the industry.

Ashish Mishra, Freelance Consultant at odesk.com replied …

Well I agree with the views expressed here regarding your query. But just brand is not the only consideration to select people. Brand does not ensure success.

What these companies look at is your own personality and how you have grown and developed yourself as a professional to accomplish what you look for in life.

I would suggest you to understand their philosophy behind hiring people. They look for leadership qualities the way this term Leadership is taught as a separate course in top universities in North America. I hope that might help you. And needless to say that you need to expand your network and collect views from the people from different background and experiences.

Moreover McKinsey has a separate knowledge center where you can apply for the jobs.

Ashok Shastry, Founder – ConsultGenie replied…

On big consulting firms I have nothing to add to what others have already said. I believe there’re millions of individuals who have great talent and can make superb consultants on their own.

First thing I suggest is to find a mentor and do a bit of internship if possible. It could be an individual or a small consulting firm. If this is not possible then find a job you like but keep trying to find a mentor and learn the nuances.

End of day it takes great focus and experience to be a consultant. If you’re sure of what you want to specialize in, at least to a small extent, I can try and connect you to a few consulting firms I know.

Dilish Kuruppath ,webMethods Consultant at Software AG replied..

Practically, its all your will to decide where you want to end up. You can stop at any position in your career and stop growing (or) you could keep moving.

Again, the possible path (for who ever, whatever degree it be) would be – get into an industry (anything), gain experience starting from the basics and grow to different levels, changing companies help too – it gives you more exposure. Once you are comfortable with quite a decent understanding (with in-depth hands on of what happens in the ground) of almost all the aspects of the industry, get into consulting.

Remember, you need to keep looking at the bigger picture for whatever you are doing at any point in time. Once you have the right credentials ( in terms of experience), you can get in and become successful. Spend at least 5-8 years to start off. You wont regret it.

Got an opinon to share? email us or reply in comments section


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/open-forum-skills-required-to-break-into-consultingstrategy-roles/966/feed/ 2 Bharti may rope in EY for the MTN deal http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bharti-may-rope-in-ey-for-the-mtn-deal/953/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bharti-may-rope-in-ey-for-the-mtn-deal/953/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:54:01 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=953 Media sources indicate that Bharti Airtel may rope in  Ernst & Young (E&Y) to do a due diligence on South African telecom major MTN, the company with which it is in talks for a complex mutual acquisition of equity to form one of the top telecom conglomerates of the world

MTN is speculated to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to do a due diligence on Bharti Airtel’s books.

E&Y is likely to be the sole due diligence advisor for Bharti, India’s largest private sector telecom company. Both E&Y and PwC will get access to virtual data rooms and the due diligence is expected to take up to a month.

E&Y had also advised Reliance Communications, when the Anil Ambani-owned Telco was in talks for a merger with MTN last year. At present, E&Y is Bharti Airtel’s auditor.

On Wednesday, MTN held an annual general meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, but a top company official told that the deal with Bharti was not on the agenda.

MTN holds a 49% stake in MTN Irancell, which has a customer base of over 16 million and whose network cover more than 60% of Iran’s geographical area. Iran is also one of the largest markets for MTN. Bharti shareholders are concerned about the political risk and whether or not the deal will be dilutive, the report said.

With large-scale public protests against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian government has come down heavily on telecom companies and the media. Analysts say that MTN’s revenues from Iran are likely to witness a sharp dip in the current quarter.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bharti-may-rope-in-ey-for-the-mtn-deal/953/feed/ 0 Recalibrate to Win: FMCG Strategies in a changing landscape http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recalibrate-to-win-fmcg-strategies-in-a-changing-landscape/937/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recalibrate-to-win-fmcg-strategies-in-a-changing-landscape/937/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:11:54 +0000 Mohit http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=937 India had been on a dream run for the last 3 years, but the year 2008 came as a sudden jolt. The FMCG industry worldwide faced unprecedented swings in external factors that included food price inflation, crude price hikes and global economic downturn. All these threaten to take their toll in 2009. The key question is will FMCG
companies in India remain insulated from the recession trends during the coming financial year? In wake of recent fears of downturn, how should companies react to the changing environment? Which strategies need to be retained in future?
Which strategies need to be discarded or modified going ahead?

Read the entire report by OC&C Strategy Consultants made exclusively available for CNI readers by Clicking Here ♣

About OC&C

OC&C Strategy Consultants is a global consulting firm with extensive expertise in FMCG business especially personal care and foods and beverages sector.

Clients include leading manufacturers,primary producers, retailers and investment institutions. The firm advises
on group-level and business unit strategy, profit improvement and mergers and acquisitions.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recalibrate-to-win-fmcg-strategies-in-a-changing-landscape/937/feed/ 0 Interview with Adil Zainulbhai – Head Mckinsey & Co. (India) http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/interview-with-adil-zainulbhai-head-mckinsey-co-india/931/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/interview-with-adil-zainulbhai-head-mckinsey-co-india/931/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:35:22 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=931 Consultants cannot always be right, they also make mistakes, says the Mckinsey India boss who believes consulting is coming of age in India.

Adil Zainulbhai is a good sport — he doesn’t mind when I ask him if he’s heard all the McKinsey jokes. “I love them,” he says. In fact, the McKinsey India managing director’s down to earth attitude, candour and sense of humour are quite a revelation since it is not common with his tribe. A self-confessed foodie and a sailing enthusiast, Zainulbhai picks Royal China for our lunch. Over a light meal of dim sum, he marvels at how Indian entrepreneurs are now setting the standards for project execution because they can do it cheaper and faster, writes Shobhana Subramanian.

Royal China is crowded on a Monday afternoon and it’s like Mumbai is celebrating the election results. The stock markets have already hit circuit filters and that’s not surprising because people like Zainulbhai are convinced money will now pour into the country with the change in sentiment. India, he points out, didn’t really market itself to portfolio fund managers, yet the money flowed in. It could be much the same story with FDI investments, for which the government has made the effort, he says. We decide we’re going to stay mainly with dim sum, which is what Royal China is known for. Poring over the special dim sum menu we select some steamed prawn dumplings with coriander, glutinous rice dumplings, fried chicken wantons, sesame paper prawn rolls and just for a change of taste spare ribs in black bean sauce.

Zainulbhai has spent 30 years at McKinsey which he joined after picking up a management degree from Harvard — eBay’s Meg Whitman and Enron’s Jeff Skilling were classmates — and describes his story as boring. “Like many of us from IIT Bombay, I was part of the diaspora that went out and then came back,” he says. Now that he’s back home he’s so busy, he doesn’t have time to read enough of the mysteries that he loves or the non-fiction and history. I ask whether consulting is a profitable business. The McKinsey chief is circumspect. “We’re quite happy with what we’re doing in India; we’ve invested for the long term. But it’s not as though this is a hugely profitable market — or a hugely loss-making market — but the consulting industry seems to be doing fairly well. As a proportion of business profits though, consulting revenues are still relatively low because the market penetration is low, just one-fifth to one-tenth.”

He believes though that more companies today understand the value of consulting simply because they have to compete in an open market — it’s a question of how to expand and survive globally. “In the last five years a lot of companies have come out of nowhere, many are family-owned firms who want help in figuring out how to become professionally-managed. They know they have to be professional, otherwise they can’t grow — a father and his two sons can grow the business only up to a point, they can’t become ten times their size. However, the only thing they won’t give up is complete control to a professional management team.”

Contrary to perception, he says Indian companies are happy to pay for advice as long as they see results. Will we see more professionals controlling firms like in the West? Zainulbhai believes it won’t really make much of a difference. “In certain industries there’s more professionalism because the sector demands it. But, in emerging spaces such as infrastructure or real estate, it will take some time.” The McKinsey chief feels that most companies around the world go through an initial wild phase but the next generation inevitably settles down. “When there’s a business reason they will professionalise because if they don’t they’ll die. Look back over 20-25 years and you’ll be surprised at how many of the top 25 companies have fallen by the wayside. Several.”

My guest marvels at India’s many tough entrepreneurs who have forced the Indian industry to become better. He admires the innovation at the business level, even in areas such as the social sector, a case in point being the emergency ambulance services offered through a public-private partnership in several states. Most of all, he’s impressed with how Indians are now able to set up plants at substantial savings and faster than their western counterparts. How do they do it? “Well, they’re brutal when it comes to paying attention to costs and but they over-invest in engineering and people. People are now benchmarking their large plants to India and China.”

It’s also true, I say, that many business groups have burnt cash, they haven’t really got their calls right and the quality of balance sheets leaves a lot to be desired. True, he agrees, many of the bigger acquisitions, especially in the last two to three years, are probably not going well. But Zainulbhai refuses to ignore the positives. “The better practices will come in a little later, not in the high-growth phase. That’s the way it happened in the West, too. As they get bigger, businessmen have to get smarter and cleaner.”

I can’t resist saying that it’s the consultants who’re advising companies to go out and buy all these businesses at preposterous prices. Once again, Zainulbhai’s a sport. “Listen, it’s not as though we don’t make mistakes, we can’t be right on everything,” he says laughing. And he goes on to regale me with some hilarious scenarios of how investment bankers must have wooed companies, banging on their doors and luring them with cheap money. How they would have compared them to peers, making them feel they’d missed the bus and lost out, until they succumbed. I’m in splits by the time he finishes because I can imagine how the scenes must have played out.

Given this talent for spinning out imaginary scenarios, I ask whether he’d like to write a book, a mystery story? No, says Zainulbhai. “I would rather organise a competition, pay a lot of money and get the rights to the winning author’s work.” Spoken like a true consultant.

Source: Business Standard


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