Mumbai, 28 February 2022
The business management and leadership book, ‘Transformation in Times of Crisis’, co-authored by Nitin Rakesh, CEO and Managing Director of Mphasis and Jerry Wind, Lauder Professor Emeritus and Professor of Marketing at Wharton, has been recognized as an accessible, adaptable guide that orchestrates solutions for disruptive change across industries. Since its inception in November 2020, Transformation in Times of Crisis has been graced with the title of “Best Business Book 2021” by the 2021 American Business Awards and was acclaimed as a distinguished ‘International Business Book 2021’ at the 2021 Business Book Awards. Furthermore, the book attained first place in the Business and Investing Category in TCK Publishing Reader’s Choice Awards 2021.
Nitin Rakesh and Jerry Wind brought their combined expertise and created a practical guide for entrepreneurs, business leaders and enterprises to capturing opportunity amidst a crisis to stay ahead of the curve. Various prestigious media houses, in India and globally, have regarded the book as an essential business book for organizations seeking to remain competitive in a digitally accelerated marketplace and a compelling guide for turning disruption into opportunity during difficult economic times.
With a foreword by Philip Kotler, Father of Modern Marketing, stating, “I wish that I had written this book!”, Transformation in Times of Crisis is well acclaimed amongst various seasoned professionals in the industry. Alan Murray, CEO, Fortune, said, “The COVID crisis has dramatically accelerated the trends of digital disruption that were already underway. Businesses either need to seize the opportunities created by that disruption, or risk being left behind. Rakesh and Wind provide a smart guide to the first option.” Further, the book has been applauded as ‘a playbook that businesses can use during times of disruption and global economic volatility’ by many stalwarts of the industry, including Manny Maceda, Worldwide Managing Partner, Bain & Co; Keith A. Grossman, President, Time Magazine; Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM; and P. Jayendra Nayak, Former Chairman & CEO, Axis Bank, India.
On completing a successful year of launch of this book, Nitin Rakesh, CEO Mphasis, believes, “The pandemic, even as it proved to be a tailwind in the creation of a digital first work and life regime, also saw several other industries struggling to survive as they couldn’t pivot in time to turn this adversity into an opportunity for growth that is both profitable and sustainable. Our attempt was to create a compass, or even become a sounding board that any business leader could reference for staying on track through turbulence. The acceptance of ‘Transformation in Times of Crisis’ as a business book of choice in these difficult times is a reminder that leaders too are human and need constant points of reference as they navigate their organisations through this pandemic.”
The book outlines eight key principles for creating opportunities and value in the post-pandemic world. By applying the key eight principles and an analytical framework, unique to the situation, businesses can fabricate the right strategy for success to defend, transform and thrive in turbulent times and beyond.
The 8 principles that form a highly adaptive framework are:
- Mental Models
- Re-Invent Customer Approach
- Digital Transformation
- Open Talent
- Agility, Adjacencies & Adaptability
- Adaptive experimentation
- Open Innovation
- Idealized design & Network Orchestration
Vijay Mahajan, the John P. Harbin Centennial Chair in Business at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, said about the book’s relevance to current management curricula, “One of the biggest learnings we have had since 2020 is that disruption is inevitable. Moving forward, the agility with which we can adapt and thrive in these uncertainties will be a key skill that every leader must cultivate. The current curriculum for management courses doesn’t necessarily prepare you for every challenge out there. Anyone who is keen on taking on a management role in future must read this book as a good reference for navigating similar challenges to emerge successful.”
“Today’s uncertain and ever changing business and social environment have forced firms to be less decisive and caused them to not invest into growth areas as much as work on just tactical details which will not work for long term enterprise value creation. Prof Jerry Yoram Wind and Mr. Nitin Rakesh have highlighted eight principles in their book which serve as guidance for dealing with current problems as well as a way forward for firms to be ready for any type of uncertainties, continue to create opportunities and unlock value in the post pandemic world for their business, people and society”, added Prashant Salwan, Professor of Strategy and International Business at Indian Institute of Management, Indore.
Summing up the relevance of the book in today’s challenging times, Harish Manwani, Senior Operating Partner, Blackstone, said, “The pandemic has merely precipitated many of the socio-economic mega trends and disruptions that were already playing out at a rapid pace. The double-edged sword of technology which was positively changing everyday life and leisure has now disrupted the nature of work itself. Today, every company is in the business of technology, either as a creator, enabler or a user of technology. Hence the eight principles for business transformation captured in this book provide a powerful framework that is widely relevant across sectors. It is a pragmatic guide to future-proof one’s business.”
