NOW is the time for India to seize the opportunity this unexpected crisis has provided.

To enhance business ties with the US, the Indian government needs the will to make structural changes to its business laws, regulations, tariffs, bureaucracy and red tape, not to mention the political whims of parties which also breeds corruption;

The future economic relationship between the US and India will become one of the greatest partnerships in the world; and

The new normal must include new and innovative efforts to connect higher education and its students, professors and leaders with higher educational institutions outside of India on a global stage – Ron Gunnell

Below are the excerpts from the fourth #IndiaPowerTalk by Nitin Potdar with guest speaker Ron Gunnell, Global Chairman & Founder, TAT Worldwide LLC. The full interview has been uploaded on the India Power Talk channel on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbUhmYaF1hU). If you wish to use anything, please attribute to India Power Talk and Nitin Potdar.

Intro

Ron Gunnell, Global Chairman & Founder, TAT Worldwide LLC., believes the pandemic has got its own set of highs. In conversation with Nitin Potdar in India Power Talk, Ron speaks about steps India can take to stay ahead and become a world leader to reckon with.

Summary

• We need to immediately re-evaluate how we conduct business internally and externally, and how to prepare for the new normal that is in front of us. If we don’t act now and plan, we will suffer consequences that may not be reversible.
• Three strategic areas that will help the people of India survive and thrive in a post-COVID-19 world are (1) Recovering Revenue, (2) Rebuilding Operations, and (3) Re-thinking the Organization.
• Small and medium companies need to accelerate the adoption of new digital solutions.
• A thriving post-COVID world in India with all the changes will not be sustainable without the investment and focused priorities in the education of India’s rising generation.
• How India adapts to ‘the new normal’ post-COVID era, will guarantee its place as a leading world economic powerhouse.

Having made over 50 trips to India in the past 12 years, Ron Gunnell, the Founder of The BroadStreet Group, LLC, has worked closely with many organisations for charitable work. In the recent past, Ron has also consulted with large companies including Reliance Technologies’ subsidiary JIO Platforms. Talking about the impact of the pandemic, Ron says, “This kind of adverse impact was seen during the Great Depression. Stock markets tumbling, healthcare infrastructure stretched to its limits, unemployment skyrocketing to unprecedented levels, and much more. We’re still in the throes of COVID-19. Its grip is still holding us hostage at many levels.”

Who can articulate this better than Ron, who has been a pioneer in the healthcare industry? In 1986, Ron Gunnell co-founded Health Benefits America (HBA) which became the largest benefits-outsourcing company in the US. HBA provided services to over 50 of America’s largest and respected Fortune 100 companies, managing the health care of millions of active and retired employees. Discussing steps to be taken to tackle this pandemic, he opines, “We need to immediately re-evaluate how we conduct business internally and externally. We need to plan and prepare for the new normal. If we don’t act now, I’m afraid we will suffer consequences that may not be reversible.”

Talking further on the current crisis, Ron elaborates, “There are three strategic areas that will help the people of India survive and thrive in a post-COVID-19 world.” The three areas according to Ron are (1) Recovering Revenue (2) Rebuilding Operations (3) Re-thinking the Organization.

He explains that ‘Recovering Revenue’ is a tricky proposition – balancing a revenue model that has worked in the past but has been decimated by COVID-19, and ‘Rebuilding Operations’ or building renewed operations resilience is critical. Developing an agile operating model is the need of the hour.

Marketing and sales leaders are getting used to having quick video conference calls to solve problems and give remote teams more decision-making authority. In the ‘new normal’, some operational functions are being done off-site and even at home. Of course, a few can’t be operated in this manner. Systems and IT have large secured data centres that must be managed, usually run at company offices but sometimes of course, off-site.

The third point “Re-thinking the Organisation’ is critical, reveals Ron, elaborating, “Companies need to understand the power of interpersonal relationships. I call it the  ‘Perception versus Reception’ in the post-COVID-19. It will demand greater respect for the power of interpersonal relationships, between the entire workforce. For instance, in the United States, Walmart is the first and largest employer to notify 10,000 employees that they will now be working permanently from their homes.”

With over four-and-a-half million small and medium companies, umpteen large companies, and an increasing number of startups, entrepreneurs are craving for capital, technology, innovation, amongst many other things. All of these aspects have been badly hit with the onset of the pandemic. Ron’s advice to small and medium companies is to adopt accelerated digital adoption to enable re-imagination and to re-focus digital efforts to reflect changing customer expectations and increase the speed and productivity of digital solutions.

Apart from these technological modifications, Ron, who has been in the field of servicing and advocating for Truth for decades, says, “Be truthful with your organization and with your customers. Demand transparency and honesty. The Indian flag reminds us that truth alone triumphs.”

Other than digitisation, Education is one sector that’s been the worst hit during this COVID-19 phase. In mid-April 2020, UNESCO reported around 192 countries had closed all schools and universities, affecting more than 90% of the world’s student community comprising almost 1.6 billion children and young people. With the largest young population in India, it would be great if foreign universities set up campuses here.

“The new normal must include new and innovative efforts to connect higher education and its students, professors and leaders with higher educational institutions outside of India on a global stage, or post-COVID, a thriving India will not be possible,” states Ron, who serves on a number of educational and Arts boards including Hill Center Theater, Utah.

Ron believes creating this kind of paradigm shift in how students experience education in a synergistic partnership with the universities situated overseas will offer Indian students an incredible head start in the business marketplace.

Elaborating on the trade relationship between India and the US, Ron is of the opinion that the US has already surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner. “The future economic relationship between the US and India will become one of the greatest partnerships in the world. The main difference is,” Ron explains further, “With India, the US is dealing with the largest democracy in the world. The government needs the will to make structural changes to its business laws, regulations, tariffs, bureaucracy and red tape, not to mention the political whims of parties which also breeds corruption. India has the talent and brainpower. It has individuals who are well-educated with good work ethics, good business minds, great leadership qualities and many other desirable qualities. All they need is for the government to get out of the way and unleash their potential. NOW is the time for India to seize the opportunity this unexpected crisis has provided.”

Ron is confident there’s a new normal in business and in life in general. How India adapts to it will guarantee its place as a leading world economic powerhouse. “I think to survive and thrive in a post-COVID world we should remember that while life is business and business is life, the pandemic has shown the world that we must be ever diligent, ever-innovative to guarantee a prosperous future for generations to come,” ends Ron, on an upbeat note.