Conquer the Complex,
Understand the Ambiguous,
and Predict what lies ahead...

Master the art of dealing with VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) situations in Corporate world

Purchase
Purchasing Options

ISBN: 9789386602312

₹450.00

ISBN: 9789386602312 | September 2017 | 312 pages

  • The Forward-Looking Manager in a VUCA World
  • The Forward-looking
    Manager in a


    VUCA World


    VIKRAM BAKSHI

  • Advance Praise

    A must have for all dealing with Projects and Operations of any nature.
    Happy Reading!


    Tapan Mishra

    Director, Space Applications Center,
    ISRO, Ahmedabad

  • Foreword

    The Forward-looking Manager in a VUCA World, written by an ex-army officer Lt Col. Vikram Bakshi, is of so much relevance to the corporates and business houses. In today’s world, there is a competition among all companies to deliver fast without losses. This book is, hence, a lifeline for many managers to understand the methods of and tools for planning in advance to prevent a situation that may bring a loss to their company.

Countering VUCA the Armed Forces Way

Many large organizations are having to cede their market dominance to new disruptive players. Well-oiled organizations are hitting roadblocks due to unanticipated problems that are slowing down operations. VUCA is affecting organizations like never before - impacting schedules, delaying deliverables, and causing cost overruns. Managing projects has become a nightmare with the uncertainties and ambiguities of business, delaying integration of allied activities, making the project a non-starter even before it gets off the ground. In this VUCA world, it is imperative to confront the volatile, embrace the unknown, conquer the complex, and understand the ambiguous to be able to predict what lies ahead.

This book helps managers master the art of dealing with VUCA by providing relatable experiences from the armed forces and advocating the use of RACE methodology. The book suggests disruptive tools and methods, and advises managers on the leadership traits needed for successfully completing projects by cutting losses and preventing chaos. It is a must-read for all managers involved in operations, supply chain, logistics, and production and manufacturing portfolios. Ex-army personnel who are starting a second career in the corporate/private sector will also greatly benefit from reading this book.

  • Problem Solving
    Problem Solving

    Learn many disruptive and game changing methods to deal with complex project and operation management issues.

  • The USP
    The USP

    The book provides relatable experiences from the armed forces and advocates the use of RACE methodology. The Chapters outlines the methods used to achieve success in all four parameters of a project i.e. scope, timely deliverable, quality and cost.

  • Highlights from the Book
    Essential Read

    A must-read for all managers involved in operations, supply chain, logistics, and production and manufacturing portfolios. Ex-army personnel who are starting a second career in the corporate/private sector will also greatly benefit from reading this book.

About the Author

Author

Lt Col. Vikram Bakshi (Retd) is a freelance writer, blogger, and a certi¬fied trainer on best practices in corporates. He has been involved in training, development, and coaching, besides managing large projects. He is an army veteran with 21 years of service in the Indian Army. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and a post-graduate in mechanical engineering, Lt Col. Bakshi has also successfully completed courses in project management and ERP Oracle. He was a part of some innovative projects in automotive technology, especially in armored tanks, when he was in the army.

He took premature retirement in 2010 to join the corporate project industry. He led a team during the greenfi¬eld projects to set up two state-of-the-art manufacturing plants. Subsequently, he was also involved in the upgradation of a brown fi¬eld assembly plant where he implemented Lean Six Sigma in SCM processes. His current assignment is streamlining material management at the EPC site of power and solar plants. His work philosophy is forward thinking, inspired planning and relentless execution. He is a lean management and change management specialist. He lectures on leadership, project management, SCM and Lean Six Sigma. He is Six Sigma Black Belt and NDT Level 2 inspector. He has inspired audiences with his talks on disruptive methods and game changing ideas and tools.

He lives in Pune and can be contacted in his email, vikrambakshi67@gmail.com

Look Inside

  • 1. Strength of Character and Leadership

    The pace of change in the current working environment is faster than our ability to respond, and new circumstances are rolled out before we get used to the old ones. It is hence imperative that leaders at all levels must adapt to changing conditions rapidly.

    A team leader should ensure that his/her members do not lose the objective or the purpose. At the same time, he/she should be open to new ideas and thought processes and analyze various alternatives available.

  • 2. Countering VUCA with Disruption

    When disruptive innovations emerge, they paralyze established players. The start-up companies, however, are less vulnerable to disruptions as they don’t have much baggage to carry.

    However, over a period of time, start-ups grow and acquire more people and processes. Eventually, they too fall into the same trap of RPV and start focusing on sustaining products like the big business players.

    At the same time, established companies realize their mistakes and start aiming to be more lean and disruptive. So the cycle of disruption and sustenance catches up with all in the end.

  • 3. Anticipate VUCA with Advance Information

    A project manager knows that there is a lot of critical information needed before a project starts. In armed forces, there is a lot of intelligence gathered about the area of operations, target, or objective based on which the subsequent planning is done. Lieutenant General J. F. R. Jacob was the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command during the 1971 War, and the Indian army planners under his leadership had found information about the enemy terrain and operations. This activity started many months before the Great War, and it led to solving critical issues. The war was a success primarily because of advance thinking and detailed planning.

Look Inside

  • Foreword by Tapan Misra

    With VUCA as a backdrop, this book discusses inspired planning and relentless execution using the top to bottom approach. The book covers the life cycle of the project, how planning is done at the strategy level with the inception of an idea from the top management, then how it involves functional heads of the departments (HODs) at the tactical level to coordinate their responsibilities with each other.

  • Introduction

    Companies today are not only expected to deliver within the schedule and with quality and low cost but deliver faster, better, and cheaper. This book also discusses developing the RACE attitude which means rapid delivery, absolute work, class quality, and economic work.

    I invite readers to understand how to use some of the armed forces and corporate disruptive methods to achieve RACE results. As an author, I hope the readers from armed forces and corporate world alike will get benefitted from the best practices in the armed forces.

  • 1. Strength of Character and Leadership

    The pace of change in the current working environment is faster than our ability to respond, and new circumstances are rolled out before we get used to the old ones. It is hence imperative that leaders at all levels must adapt to changing conditions rapidly.

    A team leader should ensure that his/her members do not lose the objective or the purpose. At the same time, he/she should be open to new ideas and thought processes and analyze various alternatives available.

  • 2. Countering VUCA with Disruption

    When disruptive innovations emerge, they paralyze established players. The start-up companies, however, are less vulnerable to disruptions as they don’t have much baggage to carry.

    However, over a period of time, start-ups grow and acquire more people and processes. Eventually, they too fall into the same trap of RPV and start focusing on sustaining products like the big business players.

    At the same time, established companies realize their mistakes and start aiming to be more lean and disruptive. So the cycle of disruption and sustenance catches up with all in the end.

  • 3. Anticipate VUCA with Advance Information

    A project manager knows that there is a lot of critical information needed before a project starts. In armed forces, there is a lot of intelligence gathered about the area of operations, target, or objective based on which the subsequent planning is done. Lieutenant General J. F. R. Jacob was the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command during the 1971 War, and the Indian army planners under his leadership had found information about the enemy terrain and operations. This activity started many months before the Great War, and it led to solving critical issues. The war was a success primarily because of advance thinking and detailed planning.

  • 4. Orientation to Avoid VUCA

    Creating a vision for each project helps anticipate possible future events and developments with imagination and wisdom. ISRO has been leading India’s success story with its vision in space technology. Their vision statement is as follows: "Harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration."

    Vision is always created with the aim to foresee the accomplishment of the entire campaign from start to finish. A vision helps in achieving the perfect results regardless of the task. It is not one odd battle or one action that will decide the war, the vision for the execution ensures a sense of continuity.

  • 5. Strategic Planning for a VUCA Future

    A strategy plan provides a direction in the life cycle of the project. The challenge is an uncertain future. How does one plan for a project that could get laden with unexpected problems? Companies are highly automated today with processes and ERPs but they are still not able to close important milestones in time. Obviously, there is something wrong with strategic planning.

    The project team members are focused on what the team should do for them instead of making a strategic plan about what they should do to support the fighting team. In armed forces, the focus of the strategic plan is to defeat the enemy, but nobody forgets the soldier who fights, so all aspects of the strategic plan are to muster resources as per requirement and in time to the battle location.

  • 6. Tactical Planning

    In the armed forces, there is a culture to deal with the supplier and manufacturer with total transparency and honesty and a culture of building relations and reliability. The supplier and manufacturer, therefore, take pride in working for the armed forces.

    As an example, when the Parliament attack happened, the Indian Government ordered the quick mobilization of Armed Forces to attack Pakistan. The war was codenamed Op Parkaram. The army engineering team had a very short time to put the off-road equipment as worthy for war fighting. The team had to ensure all equipment lying off-road for months for want of spares were made serviceable in 24 to 36 hours. The Government had given clearance for funds to procure and make the equipment available, and the challenge was to make it happen.

    In this emergency, the suppliers rose to the occasion by establishing a network of spare parts providers who were based from central India to desert borders of Rajasthan. The engineering team could get the material even en route on the train. A few other suppliers also moved along with the units to set up a support system for the requirement of spares and material in tents in Jaisalmer town.

    To summarize, if the suppliers are treated as team members, they will surely rise to the occasion when the need arises.

  • 7. Operational Planning to Prevent VUCA

    Center of gravity is what Clausewitz called “the hub of all power and movement” on which everything depends, the point at which all our energies should be directed. In counterinsurgency operations, the center of gravity is the valley with a thick jungle covering the tracks coming from the enemy side. It facilitates the movement of terrorists coming into the Indian Territory. Once the terrorists cross this jungle they would easily merge with the local population therefore more patrolling is required there and if an ambush has to be laid, then the jungle in the valley should be the center of gravity for such operations and that would control VUCA conditions.

    Likewise, the site layout where the project is to be executed is the center of gravity and should be the complete focus of every management executive either in the head office or at the site. If the site location facilitates easy administration and foolproof safety and security, there will be ease of operations.

  • 8. Execution in VUCA Conditions

    Battle of Dograi

    The colonel was participating in a canal crossing exercise. The colonel had done his training in the 3 Jat Battalion in 1989 and had read the complete history of the battle of Dograi which was fought by the 3 Jat Battalion. This was one glorious battle between India and Pakistan fought in 1965.

    Between Indian and Pakistan borders, there were various obstacles made to prevent mechanized forces sweeping across the Punjab plains. These obstacles were in the form of canals or ditch cum bund (DCB) obstacle in the form of linear defense. When war broke out, India wanted to capture the GT road leading to Lahore. Pakistan had made a canal as an obstacle called the Ichhogil canal.

    The 3 Jat Infantry Battalion was under the command of 54 Brigade/54 Div/11 Corps. The formation was given the task to secure the bridges on the Ichhogil canal primarily and advance to Lahore. The strategic aim of the 11 Corps Commander, unfortunately, could not muster in a proper tactical plan of 54 Brigades or 54 Div. As a result, they could not provide proper backup or support to 3 Jat Operations. 3 Jat had made a surprise attack on Pakistan and had crossed the canal by heavy fighting and had secured the bridgehead. The battalion had achieved the lodgment against the heavy resistance of tanks and air attack of Pakistani counterattack. There was heavy fighting to execute the task.

    However, 3 Jat after the battle phase, was waiting for replenishment, ammunition stores, and reserve support troops to sustain the lodgement against Pakistani counterattack. A VUCA situation happened, and they could not be supported by 54 Brigade/54 Infantry Division. The logistics could not cross the canal in time. Reasons were aplenty, but finally, after achieving the initial operational success, the 3 Jat battalion was ordered to withdraw. It was a tactical blunder by the brigade/division and a lot of blame game followed later. In other words, from a victory situation, the battalion was withdrawn by higher headquarter orders simply because leadership failed to provide reinforcements and logistics in time.

  • 9. Monitoring and Control

    Project manager and the buyers should ensure that resources are made available timely and the tempo of the operation is maintained. The project manager should conduct a structured review of how well the supplier is delivering the resources. He should also use audits and inspection of contractual terms to see that the supplier is meeting the obligations.

    If there are any changes in the delivery schedule or WBS for any reason, there should be a proper change control process. It should also be followed by a change in the delivery schedule of the supplier contractual delivery. The team should ensure that all documents and reminders are also kept in record for claiming any damages or legal disputes with the supplier or contractors. Otherwise, the customer would also charge for LDs.

  • 10. The Hybrid Leader

    There is a new requirement in today’s world. It is of hybrid leaders and managers who can do both planning and execution at the lowest level of execution and come back with results. They are particularly needed in the VUCA environment when things can go wrong and there is no time to look back. They have to work with a contingency plan on the ground.

  • 11. Closing of the Project

    The movie “Hacksaw Ridge” is a true story of Desmond Doss who refuses to pick up arms due to his Christian beliefs but still goes to the battle as a medical aid person. During the assault phase, the attacking force, of which he is a part, suffers a lot of casualties from the Japanese who are defending the ridge. There are wounded soldiers left on the battlefield as his battalion does a hasty retreat from the battlefield.

    Desmond Doss refuses to get down the ridge during the reorganization phase and goes back to the battleground where in the night he rescues several wounded soldiers and drops them by rope from the ridge. He is able to do an impossible task of rescuing so many soldiers and saving their lives singlehandedly without a weapon. His unit gets so motivated by his efforts that in the next phase they win over the ridge in a fierce battle of which again Desmond Doss is a part; he also gets injured during the battle. Later, Desmond Doss was awarded the medal of honor for service during the battle of Okinawa.

    Now, this story is of great significance as it shares that how a single, unarmed person saved so many lives because he went about his task undeterred even after others had given up, despite the risk to his life.

  • 12. Technology to Help in Countering VUCA

    A new ERP cloud also enables a workforce to collaborate, analyze, and work on the move, accelerating performance and attracting great talent. Finally, a new ERP cloud reduces costs and makes smarter use of scarce IT resources in construction. There is best-in-class service of integrated analytics and dashboards to track status and allow quick decision-making. The users have a clear focus on using those functions that they need to get the work done along with collaboration and interface with other stakeholders.

Testimonials

  • Lt Gen. (Dr) A. K. S. Chandele, PVSM, AVSM

    Armed forces is undoubtedly the best institution for management training. One learns to be a leader, constantly facing challenging situations in a hostile environment, often with inadequate resources, and coming out a winner. This experience when applied to the corporate world can work wonders. And that is what this book is all about, inspiring managers to take charge of VUCA situations during planning and execution. The numerous examples taken from military life make for an interesting read. The author has very appropriately woven his experiences in the army with the requirements of the modern-day industry to chart a course for success.

    Lt Gen. (Dr) A. K. S. Chandele, PVSM, AVSM
    President, Institution of Electronics and
    Telecommunication Engineers
    Former Director General, Electronics and
    Mechanical Engineers, Indian Army
  • Maj. Gen. B. K. Sharma, AVSM, SM, and Bar (Retd)

    Conflict and corporate environment are characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in a highly dynamic and competitive context. The author has hands-on experience of conflicts and corporate culture. He correlates military and corporate life artfully in this book, offering a rich, pragmatic, and fascinating account. His style is innovative, refreshing, lucid, and captivating. His deep insights not only make the book an interesting read but also serve as a guide to leadership and skill development for achieving competitive success.

    Maj. Gen. B. K. Sharma, AVSM, SM, and Bar (Retd)
    Deputy Director (Research) and
    Head, Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation,
    USI of India, New Delhi

Watch the Book Preview

Watch the book Introduction by Lt Col. Vikram Bakshi (Retd)

  • Book Video – Part 1
  • Book Video – Part 2

Contact Us

If you have any feedback or query, Write here to get in touch with the Author.