Power of impossible thinking — episode 3

30 April 2005

Anuradha Sengupta: To harness the power of mental models effectively, the middle path may be the best route to take. On Lessons in Excellence today we talk about how paradigm shifts needs to be a two way street. Jerry Wind is here and with him the man who heads the second largest bank in India and has masterminded one of the biggest paradigm shifts in Indian banking, please welcome K V Kamath, MD & CEO of ICICI bank. Jerry, KV, thank you both for being here.

Jerry, this paradigm shift necessarily being a two way street, how often have you seen people seeing it as a one way street? What does experience suggest? Why do they do that? How frequently do they do that?

Jerry Wind: Very often it is very difficult to introduce change into an organisation. If you are a leader and have a new vision of a model, a new approach, a new business paradigm that you want to introduce, you have to sell it through the organisation. It is very easy than to come up with a radical new way and try to rally the troops around it. There is also some virtue in simplicity and coming up with a single simple idea it is easier to sell it and that is the reason we get it.

Anuradha Sengupta: Ok, let me get you in here. The ICICI bank the second largest bank in the country today, you've seen a paradigm shift up close. You have actually orchestrated it, if I may use the word. Was it very difficult, while creating the new model of a private retail bank which is all about universal banking and a financial institution which had a 30 year old history, or more than 30 years.