Quotes - Prof Sumantra Ghosal

On the ISB

The most critical resource of the ISB is this coalition that has been put together. Absolutely startling coalition (governing board, academic council and executive committee of the ISB) if you look in terms of the international companies, the Indian companies, the business schools and so on. To build such a coalition takes time. The progress so far is impressive…

On What Makes a Great B-school

At the end of the day, a business school is not as good as its building, not as good as its governing body, not as good as anything; it is as good as its students. So what the ISB will become ultimately will depend on its students. That is its greatest strength. Ultimately, they are not substitutes for getting great students, putting up great programmes, and getting good faculty.

On India

The talent pool that is available in India... the world recognises it. The very best of India is the very best anywhere in the world -- people know that.

On his income
This may sound very arrogant… because salary is very small part of my income. My large income is so speaking, consulting; it is internationally done, and if I'm spending half my time teaching in India, it is going to end up in a significant reduction in my income. But that's par for the course. My kids are now out. I don't really need to worry very much at this stage. So that's okay.

On significance of the Human Capital

The challenge for business leaders today is to look beyond financial capital, strategic content and shareholder capitalism, and focus on building human capital, shaping an organisation's behavioral context and ensuring equal distribution among different investors. It's not enough to think of employees as assets. Perhaps we should think of them as volunteer investors, choosing to invest their talents in the organizations they have joined.

On Indian Businesses

The need for the hour for Indian business is to go through a fundamental transformation to focus on human capital because that is at the core of success in the new emerging trends.

On Change

The fundamental shift required is in the mindset -- the evolving perspective. During the last decade, India has gone through an enormous change and this transition has been mainly led by the way technology has evolved changing the way business was conducted.

On Team Spirit

Accumulate best talent and build on them. The team spirit should be there -- a team which could share and integrate knowledge, skills and be able to leverage their collective intellect.

On Future Readiness

To ready ourselves for the future, we should ask two basic questions -- how to lower the cost to consumer and how to get better customer engagement. The fundamental question at the root of this is what the basis of business success is and what must be achieved and how to ensure that one gets the monopoly right.

On Big Corporations
Big corporations have emerged as perhaps the most important social and economic institutions in our modern society. They are much more than money-making machines. They are what holds society together and provide it with the means of progress. The problem is that their managers don't always understand this bigger role and, if they do, they don't always like all that it implies.

On Managers

It is crucial for our societies that the managers wake up to their new role and, more than that, that these giant organizations learn how to re-invent themselves so that they can go on producing wealth and driving progress for us all.