POWER PLAY

Dibeyendu Ganguly
The Economic Times (Mumbai edition)

Power has many definitions, depending on the context. In maths, it's the product obtained by multiplying a number by itself, like two to the power of three is eight. In physics, it's the rate at which work is done, expressed in units of watts or horsepower. In people-terms, my favourite definition of power is from an old organisational behaviour text, which simply says, "power is getting people to do what they otherwise would not do."

This little definition has stayed with me while I've forgotten almost everything else I learnt in business school because it's been re-enforced time and again in real life. It neatly links power to the ability to bring about change, for if there's one thing people do not otherwise do, it's change. This, in turn, links to leadership, which is about bringing change (as opposed to management, which is mostly about promoting order and efficiency).

Powerful leaders, by definition then, are those who bring about the greatest positive change in society, improving the way people live, they way they relate and the way they think. This might be achieved by coercion, through rules and regulations that people must follow whether they like it or not. But most often, if it is to have a lasting impact, it is done by persuasion. Powerful leaders represent a great idea, which others make their own. They persuade people to do what they otherwise would not do through the force of their personalities.

Every year, The Economic Times Corporate Dossier magazine commissions IMRB to conduct a survey to determine India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs. The project starts inhouse, with a long-list of CEOs prepared by The Economic Times Intelligence Group, based on the size of the companies that the CEOs control. After that, the survey goes into the public domain, with roughly 500 executives in senior, middle and junior management across five cities doing the selecting. They are not allowed to pick their own group CEOs, but others who don't have direct power over their lives and careers.

For the first three years of the India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs survey, the man at the top was NR Narayana Murthy. The glory of Infosys was then at its height and its CEO held unquestionable sway over India Inc. But power, as everyone knows, is a sifting thing, and its hard for any single person, however iconic he might be, to retain his hold on people's minds in perpetuity. Last year, NR Narayana Murthy seceded the top position to Mukesh Ambani and slipped to third place. This year, the survey has thrown up a brand new No 1. And there are several interesting changes at the top, reflecting changing perceptions in a period of slowdown.

Set to hit the newsstands on 3 April 2009, the special edition of Corporate Dossier (CD) containing the results of the India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs survey features several articles on the theme of power. The lead article analyses the historic relationship between economic and political power in India, right from the days of the Harappan civilisation.

There have been periods in history when those with economic power have managed to wield political power (The East India Company being a case in point) and then a period of backlash when those in political power sought to gain economic power (the License Raj).

Lastly, the CD special issue features 'Musings On Power', a series of very candid interviews with Deepak Parekh of HDFC, NR Narayana Murthy of Infosys and Sunil Mittal of Bharati Airtel. The panels alongside would give you an idea on how they handle this crazy little thing called power.