In the complex and ever-evolving landscape of management consulting, certain individuals wield expertise that transcends conventional practices, reshaping the strategies and vision of organisations. Selected as World’s Best Emerging Leader, Jai Thampi, CEO, at Artha Strategies, embodies a commitment to excellence, strategic insights, and transformative consultancy in the field of management.
Growing strategically
Jai Thampi, armed with a wealth of experience and a visionary mindset, stands at the forefront of Artha Strategies‘ pursuit of redefining strategic consulting. His journey is characterised by a passion for strategic insights, a deep understanding of organizational dynamics, and an unwavering commitment to orchestrating transformational change.
Thampi’s leadership in strategic advisory has steered Artha Strategies towards fostering innovative methodologies and forward-thinking strategies. His guidance and strategic acumen have been instrumental in redefining paradigms, crafting effective business solutions, and navigating the complexities of diverse industries.
At the core of Thampi’s philosophy lies an ardent advocacy for fostering growth. His initiatives transcend traditional methodologies, focusing on restructuring approaches and infusing businesses with strategies that are agile, innovative, and aligned with dynamic market trends.
Innovative Management Consulting
Jai Thampi’s impact in the realm of management consulting continues to resonate. With a steadfast commitment to innovation, strategic guidance, and transformational methodologies, he stands poised to shape the industry’s future, inspiring organizations to embrace change and enhance their operational effectiveness.
Jai Thampi’s journey epitomizes the essence of transformational leadership and a dedication to innovative management consulting. His initiatives, strategic insights, and groundbreaking endeavors position him as a trailblazer, inspiring industries to re imagine their strategies and navigate the ever-evolving business landscape.
In conversation with Jai Thampi, CEO, Artha Strategies
What makes a strong leader? What are your key leadership strengths are make the strongest attributes of success.
Strong leadership comes at the intersection of inspirational vision and empowerment of people. Great leaders are able to envision the future, communicate it with clarity, and drive execution with empathy and determination.
My people have always described me as a passionate and inspirational leader. What makes me successful is my foresight of technology-driven inflection points and my ability to translate that into strategies and roadmaps that motivates people to drive change. I believe in a servant leadership culture, where I coach my people to self-discover, facilitate them to grow, and expect the highest levels of integrity, trust, and quality in return.
An accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career? What challenges did you face to reach to the success.
Founding Artha Strategies and pivoting out of my corporate life to become a full-time entrepreneur was the most significant milestone in my career. After having spent over 25 years in large corporations at senior leadership roles, stepping into the ‘uncertain world’ of entrepreneurship was not an easy task. But leveraging my experience and network allowed me to win marquee clients in luxury goods, healthcare, industrial automation and other segments very quickly, and scale my revenue.
Corporate life comes with luxuries of infrastructure and support staff, but as an entrepreneur I had to learn juggling between client meetings, consulting work and research, lead generation, and all the rest – including report preparations, administrative work, accounting and taxes, and even IT management. Relying on software and cloud-based tools helped me mitigate this.
Unlike the big established consulting houses, Artha does not have an entourage of staff, though we deliver services of similar quality and calibre. To overcome this challenge I rely on my trusted network of partners like innovation studios, venture building houses and research agencies. With clients I assemble a small team to work closely with me on their projects. This “tiger team” approach not only gives me extra resources, but also helps the client find trailblazer digital talent internally.
What is a role of leader in these challenging times.
In keeping with my leadership style, I believe strong leaders are critical in these disruptive, challenging and uncertain times. Leaders must play the following 5 roles:
- Be the beacon of inspiration and hope: Clarify and communicate the purpose (“why”) and motivate the team to remain steadfast in accomplishing the tasks ahead, despite the macro-economic turbulences.
- Adapt transformative strategies: Change is the only constant now, and leaders must be ready to let go of the old playbooks, and adapt new transformative and disruptive strategies.
- Create a culture of open innovation: Gone are the days where companies can rest on their past laurels. It is no longer the big against the small, it is now the fast defeating the slow. Leaders must be willing the embrace open innovation and build partner ecosystems including nimble startups.
- Care for people and the planet: Uncertain times demand empathy and care, and leader must genuinely look out for their people and their well-being. At the same time, it is also every leader’s responsibility to care for the environment and the society at large.
- Constantly self-develop and reinvent: In today’s digital world, if you pause, you will perish. Leaders should keep themselves abreast of latest developments and technologies and be open-minded to learn and reinvent themselves.
What is your vision and how do you share that with your shareholders, employees and others?
At Artha Strategies our vision is to be a trusted advisory partner to our customers for digital transformation and sustainable innovation. I believe this intersection of digital and sustainability is the best way businesses can do greater good to the planet and its people, while building long-term competitive advantage. At Artha we deliver our services through a trusted partner ecosystem comprising of innovation studios, deep tech startup incubators and accelerators, and other tech providers, and we have curated this partner ecosystem by identifying companies that embrace our common vision. Through regular communication and thought leadership, we reinforce our beliefs.
How do you drive active business renovations and how does that impact your subordinates?
At my company Artha Strategies, I have developed a 3E framework to drive successful business transformations. Unlike companies that go into panic mode and nosedive into execution, I start with “Enlightening” the team on the new possibilities, drawing them back to the purpose of the company. Then I bring together cross-functional stakeholders to “Envision” a strategic roadmap that has the potential to disrupt the business while accelerating sustainability. Translating this strategic roadmap into “Execution” will be the third stage where I embrace open innovation and unleash agile development. This 3E approach not only inspires the team, but also aligns everyone on one common agenda, and empowers the team to perform to their max potential.
How do you integrate corporate philanthropy or corporate social responsibility as a part of your business strategies?
At the core of my company Artha Strategies is the true essence of “Artha” (or “purpose”). I believe in the intersection of digital technologies and sustainability for the greater good of the planet and its people. I also dedicate time for pro bono work, mentoring entrepreneurs and founders-in-need, especially helping impact companies focusing on topics like sustainable green solutions, women safety and empowerment, deep tech for sustainability, etc.
What has been your driving force or philosophy in life?
Giving back is my core life philosophy, and that is why I named my company Artha Strategies (meaning “Purpose” in Sanskrit). I want to discover my life’s true purpose which is to help those in need. I aim to do this by sharing what I have – which is my wealth of experience and knowledge.
How do you plan to drive your business at a global level?
Thanks to my global experience and network of over 25 years, and my primary consulting clientele being C-level leaders at large multinationals, I have been fortunate to work international projects since day 1 of my company inception. As for my engagement with startups, founders from around the world connect with me through social channels seeking advice and mentorship. My presence in advisory boards like Boston University also give me global exposure.
How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition?
Success is about fulfilment, leaving a lasting positive impact, doing something greater than oneself.
In my life I want to walk the talk and leave a legacy of inspiration and hope. If I give back to the community by sharing my learnings, insights and experiences with others, I hope they will pay it forward too and this will become a strong movement.
In my professional life I want to be successful by creating value to all stakeholders – be it my clients, employers, shareholders, employees, or the community – by fostering customer-centricity and sustainable innovation. If they have received more value from me than what they have put in, then I have measured myself successful.
In your opinion what is the most significant aspect of leadership?
The most significant aspect of leadership is the legacy you leave behind. And you can leave a strong legacy by doing the two following things: (i) Coaching, mentoring and developing a new generation of high integrity, trustworthy, disruptive leaders, and (ii) caring for the planet and the society at large.
In myy corporate life I have witnessed first-hand how my ex-employers like Schneider Electric, Electrolux, Cisco and Philips played active roles in empowering the society towards equitable and sustainable future. As a founder and management consultant now, I firmly believe that it is our responsibility to guide our customers towards social equality and empowerment by leveraging technologies and other capabilities to address the 8 aspects mentioned above.
Esprit de corps: How do bring fairies and equality to all?
As business leaders we can do various things to bring fairness and equity to all. For instance, businesses can start with inclusive hiring, as well as implement pay equity and other fair practices. As investors or consultants, we can do much more to support local small businesses, minority-owned businesses etc. Resource-rich multinationals can set an example by playing active roles in community engagement and environmental stewardship. Leaders can lead by example by creating the right culture with work-life balance, and access to learning and development opportunities. Lastly, there should also be transparent measurement and progress reporting.
