Harsh Mariwala
Guest is known for...
Harsh Mariwala is the Founder and Chairman of Marico, a leading FMCG company. He co-authored the book “Harsh Realities” with management expert Ram Charan, which tells the story of how he transitioned from running a family-run commodities business to creating a professionally run Marico, and the challenges he faced along the way.
Here's what I will learn...
In our conversation, Harsh Mariwala shared insights on separating from family business, overcoming talent challenges, evolving as a leader, becoming a professional CEO, and assembling an advisory board to guide his journey.
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From the Podcast
Harsh speaks about how his personality was shaped in the early years. He speaks about diverse interests his family members had (ranging across Indian Classical Music, Sailing, Golf etc) that informed his thinking. He also speaks about values such as frugality, tolerance and consensus building one builds while growing up in a joint family construct.
Harsh speaks about how he tactfully separated from the rest of the family. He speaks about the role that Mr. Bipin Shah (appointed as a Trusted Mediator) played in moving the conversations forward. He also speaks about how some family events, sometimes, can serve as an opportunity to revive the relationships.
Harsh speaks about his belief in Prof Ram Charan’s maxim – Remove Escape Buttons. Harsh speaks about how he leveraged this insight in the way he went about pursuing the International Business and implementing the ERP system in Marico.
Harsh speaks about how he broke the cycle of mediocre talent that a lot of companies struggle to do. He speaks about hiring his CHRO from XLRI and how he went about building the quality of talent from there.
Harsh speaks about how he has grown as a leader over the years and how he has gone about seeking feedback from the people around him. He speaks about the criticality of setting the right climate for feedback for people to tell him what they think of him.
Harsh speaks about how he thinks about assembling a good quality Board and extracting value from them.
Harsh speaks about how he looks for good talent where it is at an Executive Level or at a Board level. He speaks about the mix of passion, determination and perseverance that he looks for in the individuals he hires.
Harsh speaks about how his children are charting their journey. He goes on to say that he would like them to make choices on their own terms based on their interests and skills.
Harsh speaks about how he focuses on doubling down on his strengths than wallowing in the development areas. He also speaks about the criticality of seeking feedback as we go through our journeys.