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Here’s a fact: Treating your customers well is no longer enough. The new rule is: employees too, have to be treated as well, if not better, than the customers. Happy employees make happy customers, and happy customers tend to be loyal.

And here’s one more: You don’t need to spend money in advertising to create awareness about your product any longer. The new rule is: invest in making your product so good that it does its own marketing. New Age companies, Amazon and Flipkart, Uber and Ola, and Netflix, among others, are dismantling the old rules of business and installing new rules in their place.

Rajesh Srivastava’s new book, The New Rules of Business unfolds the mysteries of these new ways of doing business which most companies try to keep under wraps.

He says, “The rules of business have well and truly changed. The New Rules of Business will introduce you to new thoughts, ideas, tools, techniques, and frameworks which will help you come up with impactful answers to business challenges.”

But first, let’s meet the author!

Rajesh Srivastava is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Bangalore, and has over three decades of corporate and academic experience.

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At United Spirits (now Diageo India), he played a significant role in creating some of India’s most recognized, beloved and enduring alcohol brands that include McDowell’s Signature, Royal Challenge, Bagpiper and Blue Riband Duet.

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He later became the president of J.K. Helen Curtis Ltd, where he re-energized the company and the deodorant category by relaunching Park Avenue deodorant as a perfume. Today, ‘perfume’ has become a generic benefit for the deodorant category.

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Since 2008, he has directed his focus towards teaching and conducting corporate workshops. As an educator, he has taught at IIM Indore and S.P. Jain School of Global Management.

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As a corporate trainer, he has worked with prestigious companies like Siemens India, Mercedes-Benz Research Centre and Rehance Industries, amongst others.

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Throughout his career, his writings have appeared in various publication, including Outlook, the Telegraph, Mid-Day, Business Standard and Mint.

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He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Shaily, and their son, Kautuk. This is his first book.

Compellingly written with several anecdotes, The New Rules of Business is a gripping book full of incredible insights. Get your copy now!

Upendra Kumar Sinha has contributed significantly to shaping India’s capital markets in multiple roles, including as chairman of UTI Mutual Fund and head of the Capital Markets division in the Ministry of Finance. Credited with the revival of the mutual funds industry and bringing in reforms to protect the rights of investors, Sinha has spent decades leading the financial front of the country towards growth and stability. In Going Public, he shares the landmarks on the journey of a nation striving for economic progress and prosperity.

Read on to know about  four reforms that shaped India’s financial landscape:

The UTI[Unit Trust of India] Act and the changing role of the government –

Even though the government had no shareholding or operational control in UTI, it was still perceived to be a government institution on account of its association with IDBI, its tax exemption schemes and other contributing factors vis-a-vis the UTI Act, 1963. The already limited role of the government was curtailed further when, in 1997, the practice of having government nominees in the trustee board of UTI was discontinued on the rationale that UTI should be run by a board of experts.

‘Thus, when the crisis developed in 2001, it came to light that the government had no mechanism for timely and first-hand knowledge. In fact, it was the stand of the government that UTI had kept it in the dark. On this, the JPC[Joint Parliamentary Committee] lamented that the government did nothing to emerge from the darkness. After the crisis, Yashwant Sinha reversed the decision over government nominees…’

Amendment to the SEBI[Securities and Exchange Board of India] Act in 2002

The SEBI Act, 1992 allowed the organization to demand records or information from only a limited set of entities but its powers were restricted when it came to prohibiting and investigating misconduct. A game-changing move that strengthened the position of both SEBI and investors was made in the form of the 2002 amendment in the SEBI Act which increased the power of SEBI to deal with misconduct or fraud and led to a crackdown on notorious entities.

‘SEBI could then designate one of its officers as an investigation authority who could not only demand the production of records from  “any person associated with the securities market in any manner” but also keep such documents in its custody upto six months. In case of reasonable suspicion that documents may be destroyed, SEBI was also authorized to conduct search and seizure after getting approval from a court.’

 Allowing reforms to allow debt to be raised from the market

In order to reduce dependence on banks it is essential to create alternative sources of funds. One way of facilitating growth is making reforms to allow debt to be raised from the market. SEBI, the RBI and the government have been continuously trying to make provisions for the same by simplifying procedures and bringing in uniformity and transparency.

‘Rules regarding credit rating agencies were made stronger and uniformity was implemented in the rating symbols. At the same time, rules about debenture trusts were tightened. Since credit rating agencies and debenture trustees are also supervised by SEBI, better coordination amongst different players in the chain could be established. The government also helped by allowing pension funds to invest in corporate bonds.’

Entrepreneurship with Alternative investment funds (AIFs)

Across the world, a popular method of raising funds for start-ups and new generation companies is Alternative investment funds (AIFs). This unique class of investors raise money from different sources and invest in new and promising private companies based on a prediction of future growth potential. To promote this method of funding, SEBI formulated an AIF Regulation in 2012 and saw positive results.

 ‘In 2016, AIFs invested more than $16 billion in different companies. In 2018–19, the total funds invested were close to $32 billion. Now, even corporates and rich individuals are setting up funds to invest in start-ups. Many of them are also mentoring the assisted companies, besides making financial investments.’

‘It is not unique to India that changes in the laws governing stock exchanges and share market have been enacted only after major incidents of misconduct have taken place, and not preemptively or when these problems were still much smaller and more manageable,’ writes Sinha. However, scams and deficiencies that challenged India’s financial systems led to reforms that strengthened the economy.

As the business-world becomes increasingly dynamic, innovative, and experimental – the benchmarks for brand-building are changing. Playing by a set rulebook is no longer enough. There are new (and higher) expectations now, and with them come new rules of doing business.

From learning to prioritize employees’ well-being to investing in products that can do their own marketing – the market today has gradually dismantled the old rules and installed new ones in their place.

Author Rajesh Srivastava has brought together over three decades of his corporate and academic experience and the result is his debut book, The New Rules of Business, to present compelling anecdotes and insights about new age companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Uber to explore how and why they have made it big in the market.

In an age of entrepreneurship, this book is a must-read for people across careers and professions. We list down some of the reasons that make this such a relevant read today.

To Keep Up with New Age Companies

New age companies, Uber and Ola, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hot Star, Amazon and Flipkart are dismantling the old rules of business and installing new rules in their place.
It is the age of innovative entrepreneurship, and to be able to take any step forward in the business-world, it is imperative to keep up with the names disrupting and revolutionizing the industries today.

This book presents compellingly-written anecdotes and case-based insights, which makes it highly accessible and readable even for layreaders.

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To Identify Irrelevant ‘Old’ Rules

What triggered the collapse of Nokia? Not a competitor from the handset industry. It was iPhone introduced by Apple, which was from a different industry.

The market is no longer following the ‘old’ rules, as seen in the case of Nokia. New age competitors are indirect, invisible & from cross industry.

If you continue to operate your business using ‘old’ rules, then it would be equivalent to using rotatory phones in an era of smart phones, you run the risk of a Nokia-like fate.

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To Arm Yourself with Newly Minted Rules to Take on the World!

In our careers – entrepreneurial or otherwise – we are constantly faced with business challenges. Most of us search for the answers in the areas ‘lit’ by our current level of knowledge.

But more often than not, the solution may very well lie outside of it.

This book will introduce you to the newly minted rules of business. Armed with them, you can feel inspired and confident to take on business challenges and come up with trumps and out-of-the-box solutions.

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The Rules are Relevant for All – Veterans and Beginners

All the points above make it evident that new and upcoming entrepreneurs can benefit a lot by making themselves aware of new rules and challenges of the market today. But, what about veterans and experienced businesspeople? What new tools, techniques and frameworks can this book teach me?

This book is a must-read for veterans and beginners alike – simply because the rules of business have well and truly changed. And even though the challenges might be by and large the same, the solutions for satisfactorily resolving them have changed.

This book will introduce you to new thoughts, ideas, tools, techniques, and frameworks which will help you come up with impactful answers to business challenges.

Creativity, knowledge, and out-of-the-box thinking have become crucial factors for potential and prospective customers today. Just being a brand is not enough, you have to be a ‘cool’ brand to make customers truly happy. The New Rules of Business presents relevant insights into all these facets.

Today is an age of experimental and innovative entrepreneurship. Business strategy is changing fast, and so are customers’ expectations. It is more imperative than ever to keep up.

As the business-world becomes increasingly competitive (and creative), treating your customers is no longer enough. There are new rules that have emerged, including taking care of employees. Happy employees make happy customers, and happy customers tend to be loyal.

‘The New Rules of Business’ by Rajesh Srivastava presents insights and anecdotes to explore how businesses can grow in the new-age world. Find out how growth and success is an achievable milestone, even if you are new to the field, in an excerpt below.

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Pivot to Unlock Growth

Business history is littered with examples of the initial strategy of an enterprise invariably failing. Successful enterprises don’t give up when their initial strategy proves ineffective. They pivot as many times as required, till they hit upon a successful strategy: either by chance, through superlative thinking or from a competitor’s mistake or by sheer luck. Once the successful strategy is discovered, the enterprise drops anchor.

Implied in this approach is an axiom: it is unwise to put all resources—financial and non-financial—into the initial strategy. Enterprises should hold back sufficient resources for subsequent strategic pivots they might have to undertake along the way till the successful one is identified. An enterprise, therefore identifies and places a bet on the best initial strategy and invests sufficient resources to make it a success. But it also holds back enough resources in case the initial strategy does not work out and the enterprise has to pivot to arrive at another strategy.

Enterprises that ignore the pivot strategy could make mistakes at a great cost to themselves and their shareholders.

Are there examples of enterprises that have embraced the pivot strategy to lay the foundation for business success?

Wikipedia

Wikipedia1 leads the list. It ‘pivoted’ its way to becoming the world’s largest collaborative, free encyclopaedia. In March 2000, Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, launched an online encyclopaedia and called it ‘Nupedia’. As was the norm then, he assembled an advisory board of experts to mentor this project. They in turn developed an intensive acceptance and editing process that included multi-step peer review process to control the content of the articles.

After twelve months, merely twelve articles were written, despite many contributors evincing interest. The strategy of having experts to control and drive the project was clearly not working. Wales needed to pivot, and quickly.

In 2001, a second free online encyclopaedia was launched where anyone could contribute. It was called Wikipedia. It operated on the principles of software industry where a collaborative approach was followed. Work released at the earliest possible opportunity and refined subsequently. This process is called ‘beta testing’. Leading software companies are in a state of perpetual beta: they are striving for continuous improvements. A leading proponent of this strategy is Google.

80 per cent ready. And then based on user feedback, it keeps improving the software, live.

Wikipedia too released the earliest possible version of an article, letting several people work simultaneously to rapidly refine it. The new pivot got traction and Wikipedia, as we know it, was born. Nupedia, which decided to remain rigid and not pivot, shut shop in 2003.

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Author Rajesh Srivastsava brings to this book three decades of corporate experience to present advice that is both accessible and actionable.

Feed your entrepreneurial spirit by getting a copy of the book today!