Decision Making

More often than not, the media industry is identified with the main anchor /s and they drive the prime time viewing. They are popular and are idolized and are visible faces of the industry.

But I must talk about one such professional manager – and he built a fairly large and respectable media organization in the last 10 years without courting limelight or being seen as having the kind of brand image that many other individuals favourably used to their advantage.

As he says “ the initial days in incubating, conceptualizing and implementing a business model is tough” but if you were to back your instincts and if the decision making process is rational, then there is no looking back and moving into a comfort zone. This group ventured out into a number of business models and truly transformed into a complete media player.

Vijay (name changed) believed in his team of dedicated managers – like any professional manager he looked towards them and expected them to do their homework right –
a. Have a good business proposition, back up with reasonable opportunity
b. The business model should be well analysed and implementable
c. Do your homework in testing the model, research extensively
d. Believe in the business model
e. Have alternative scenarios and solutions in place, should you experience an unexpected problem
f. Invest to build a brand

Vijay believed that managers should be given ample space to take decisions independently and he firmly stood by them, once a collective decision was taken. He supported them with adequate resources – men, money and materials. He believed that an implementable business proposition should be quickly converted to a workable business model and monetized. He de-layered the decision making process and went with the flow.

In any multinational or a home grown organization, decision making process could be laborious and time consuming – a fair deal of research and “what if” is examined and layers of management would review them before approving. This approach has its own set of believers and has universal acceptance.

Vijay’s school of thought is very clear – a business model should be sustainable, practical, implementable and expandable, besides being profitable. He believed in the immediacy of action and therefore wanted his managers to do their homework right – the first time around.

Each of his business models are successful businesses today and many of his business managers continue to lead their respective teams and have created wealth and professional growth for themselves and the organization.