Ratan Tata on 4 things we need to do in 2021 | Economic Times

The year 2020 will go down in history as literally the most unprecedented year this planet has ever seen. For the first time, from my perspective, it’s hard for me to say where we are headed or what’s in store for the year ahead. This is a test for the human race, and I am confident that we will find a way.Cycles Of LifeWe have always experienced cycles, be it business or health cycles or epidemic cycles. Every cycle has its intensity and effects. However, as these cycles get more entrenched, humans have the ability to rise above and deal with problems through creativity and agility. A few decades ago, HIV was considered the killer of all humanity. But when we look back, we invested in research and used all our intellectual might to conquer the virus. And we succeeded.Whether we find an effective vaccine or not, I am hopeful that we will eventually find some cure that will reduce the intensity of this pandemic. But it will be imperative for all of us to learn not to take this pandemic for granted. It calls for true reflection — if we look at what’s happening in the UK and Europe, we need to stay on the safe side by wearing our masks and washing our hands, and continuing to adopt solutions that are working for us today. I know of families who have never stepped out the entire eight months and have contracted the virus. So we have to be humble and realise that we have something very powerful around us, which is a biotech aberration no different from cancer, with a much faster fatality rate. We must deal with this situation with respect and understand the importance of this virus being a reality which is here to stay. We are ultimately one world and we can only win together — that’s what this virus has taught us.Economically, there will be a new low that will require all businesses to transform and adapt to the new normal. We are already seeing corporates around the world reacting in innovative and creative ways to meet difficulties arising from the fallout of the pandemic. We will, as countries, have to work hard to boost consumption, bring in infrastructure development to create jobs, and find solutions to revive industries and sectors that are in deep depression. Our government in India has made some significant moves in this direction, which I am sure will help us tide over this economic storm. But it will be critical for us collectively to work towards finding new ways, new solutions and create new opportunities to emerge successful.Collective Responsibility Towards The VulnerableAs we go through the economic cycle, it will be important for us to remind ourselves of the migrant labourers who paid heavily with the loss of lives and livelihoods during the early days at the start of the pandemic. This is because they had no choice. The one thing they do have, which we as a country must recognise, protect and value, is their skills, which no one else could replace in their absence. If we build an ecosystem that can protect and grow this community based on their skills, then we will emerge prosperous as a nation. The current government is doing a great job of recognising the need for skilling and making the right investments to build platforms that enable this community to apply their skills and to gain new ones. This cycle alone can boost economic progress and drive significant development to the community and improve their lives and livelihoods.Women will be an important cog in the wheel as they rise to enhance their contributions to economic activity at home, in the community and for the country. We will see more women gaining hard skills in the near future and doing jobs we never imagined. There will be no distinction between jobs that can be done by men and those done by women. Gender equality and equal reward will be critical for progress. Whenever there is a depression there is always someone who has found solutions. Women, in this case, will rise up but it is important for us to understand if we have the ecosystem to allow them to flourish and fuel their enthusiasm. This will be looked at as the creative skills of a country.Will Young People Lead Innovation?With the emergence of a new world order and the introduction of technology, it will be important for us to recognise youth and groups or communities that have a point of view and provide them with enough curiosity and energy to succeed and progress. The businessmen of the past were of a different pedigree. It was a different time. Today, it is not easy to become a large brick and mortar conglomerate as in the past; we may never see this in the future. What will be important is to have ideas that are creative and relevant coupled with the ability to transform them into opportunities backed by the right investment and passion. When we compare ourselves to the US, we fall short in this area. In the US, eight out of ten businesses will fail and it’s okay. ‘It’s OK’ is a culture we need to adapt to, and genuinely fuel innovation in the short to mid-term. In India, we have many young people who have great ideas. In fact, when one looks around, you will see many Indians running large international technology businesses like Google and Microsoft. We must sit up and take notice of why this is happening. Many of them have grown through the ranks and worked hard to get to where they are. In my view, there are many who have such strong ideas, it’s our willingness to back those ideas that need to be fuelled with the ability to support their thinking without turning them down. Moreover, as a country we need to start investing in such businesses with Indian money rather than getting the youth to find investment from Japan or Korea. In my own little small way I have been trying to support the start-up ecosystem but with a motive to learn from what I see and experience from these young people. I mostly gravitate towards those from whom I can learn and grow, but most importantly it is an intuition about those who are agile enough to act on an opportunity.Innovation, and ideas to solve, have always been intrinsic to India. We just don’t have the capacity or intent to fund it from within the country. Most innovators had to look to the West or East for investment or acknowledgement. I fondly remember Dr. Amar Bose, who was renowned for the Bose brand of audio equipment that became a world phenomenon. He used his knowledge and tech expertise to create many solutions for different sectors. For twenty years, he worked hard to create one of the best suspension systems for cars. I had the privilege to sit in one of the prototype cars he created using this suspension technology and I was surprised. When most cars find it hard to navigate through Indian road conditions, here was a car invented by Dr. Bose that sailed through with utmost comfort to the passenger. This invention unfortunately never saw the light of day. But many such Amar Boses exist in India.We need to find them, support them and build them to grow into businesses of the future. That’s when India will unlock its latent potential.Most innovation is fuelled by the application of technology that is transforming the way we do business. Traditional businesses will have to actively watch for the advancement of technology that can very well replace their business models overnight. We are on the threshold of innovation through technology. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and other such new-age technologies will change the way we operate today and forever. A fairly successful business can be easily in jeopardy if technology that can do the same job quicker, faster, better with precision. There are some highly intelligent issues at play which we must be very agile to adopt, adapt and be aware of. We are no longer looking at or handling devices. We will reach a stage where we don’t write logic. The machine would have written logic on its own which will need to be challenged. These are the immense possibilities. Not long ago, IBM challenged the ancient Korean game which was considered to be unbeatable in the world. Through machine learning, IBM was able to change the code and they won and took over the top spot. We are going to see such dramatic changes happen in business. But we must have the will and passion to encourage them to happen.The Convergence Of Creativity And CultureBusinessmen who have been at the forefront of embracing technology have truly inspired me. Leaders such as Bill Gates helmed change and challenged the ordinary with authenticity, values and respect. Steve Jobs, who unfortunately is no more, is someone who created wonderful things that have endless possibilities. Elon Musk is doing things people would have never imagined. These are leaders who have excelled in the US due to the culture of creativity that motivates innovation and inspires new ideas.We have enough and more of such innovators amongst us here in India. It is about creating and fostering a culture of innovation and working on an “‘it’s OK’ to fail” kind of environment. We need to sift through 100 ideas to find those five or six that can be truly successful.As we enter 2021, we must think about a few things: Let’s not take the universe for granted,There is a large power that governs us. Let’s learn to live with humility and gratitude, as life is uncertain. We must do our best to keep ourselves safe by co-creating solutions that address all humankind. Technology is transforming the way we eat, live, learn and play — let us be brave enough to embrace it and find solutions collectively through collaboration. And lastly, to be part of this high world transformation that is happening around us, we need to foster a culture of innovation that converges with the right investment without fear of failure.