"Knowledge is the Currency of Future"

Mindtree's Gardner, Subroto Bagchi believes that post recession it will be critical for organizations to innovate and seek new ideas. Market knowledge is likely to be the currency for the future and so the role of CIO becomes central. Cost reduction is perceived as a solution to deal with recession but Subroto Bagchi says that the key issue is to provide right information to the company, and guide it to right avenues to put the right amount of money at the right place.

A higher level of intuition and intelligence, and the ability to  re prioritize and recreate investment decisions, is an asset in these times. CIOs need to have a strong understanding of business and develop a vision for the company. Succession planning should now become an active part for the CIOs and it should be started well in advance and should be willing to be uprooted from technology sector.

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"Envision with Conviction & Passion"

Sudarshan describes the present times as interesting because the sudden change is not restricted to a single company or a particular sector; but to all the countries across the globe. He suggests that this should not be only viewed as a challenge but also an opportunity by the CIOs to start seeing themselves as "transformational agents." A CIO could make a start by being proactive in optimising business process,  since he works closely with constantly changing technologies. This ability to change can be very vital for a greater role for him, maybe a seat among the strategists.

He admits that CIOs are operation driven, so reduction of operation costs is fundamental to them. But given the changes there is a need to think differently. He says that one needs to envision innovation with a lot conviction and deep passion.

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"Move Out of Your Comfort Zone"

K.Ganesh, the founder and CEO of TutorVista suggested that the recession presents a different kind of opportunity; since there are fewer job opportunities now, people are expected to think out of the box in the same job.

He sees a bigger role for the IT industry and the CIOs since the CIO's job is constantly changing and they are accustomed of getting out of comfort zones. He urges CIOs not to be restricted to technology related aspects but grasp the complete business side. The key to this is to think out of the box and see themselves not as techno players but as business enablers in the company context.

These tough times should be seen by CIOs as opportunities to establish themselves business enablers and contribute to the organizational concept. Belief in oneself can actually harness the power of psychocybernetics to actually get out of these despondent times.

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"Follow the Consumer"

Titan's MD Bhaskar Bhatt believes there is real slowdown, but the US has suffered maximum impact. The Indian situation is slightly better off. The youth and women categories in Titan brands have not experienced any downturn, according to him.

He, however, suggests some mantras to deal with the slowdown. The first mantra should be to conserve as of much cash as possible. Another solution is to use IT applications to better understand consumer behavior. Finally, he suggests there is a need to engage people to reduce frustration, and motivate them to ensure no loss of performance. We have to realize that companies as India still offers adequate opportunities for growth.

To see the full interview, please click on the adjacent video player on the right hand side.