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Ambir hosts Global Leadership and Business Excellence event Rebecca Penty CEOs must consider the worldwide ripple effect of their actions MONCTON - When CEOs consider cost-cutting measures during tough economic times, they should think of the worldwide ripple effect of their actions, a leadership consultant told a Moncton business crowd Tuesday. Downsizing projects here in New Brunswick could mean lost jobs along the supply chain in places like India, said J.M. Sampath, the managing director of India-based business leadership consultancy firm Arpitha Associates Pvt Ltd. "Today, what you do will impact the whole globe," Sampath said, encouraging businesses to not only foster good employer-employee relationships at home, but abroad. The consultant and educator addressed about 50 businesspeople at a forum on global leadership and business excellence, sponsored by Saint John-based information communication technology company, Ambir. Sampath said especially during periods of economic turmoil, business leaders need to stick to their corporate visions in order to save face with consumers, who associate behaviour with brand image. "Your word is your word," Sampath said. If a corporate vision statement is to put people first, as it is for the Indian company that Sampath used as an example, a CEO should focus less on quarterly reports and more on using human capital to continue business growth. Tata Group, the Mumbai-based conglomerate, faced the prospect of firing hundreds when the IT bubble burst about eight years ago, Sampath said. Instead, the company launched a jewelry line with its excess workers. Though that wing of the company struggled initially, its shares have grown almost exponentially, which Sampath said proves that when a company sticks to its corporate vision, it will see success.
The leadership talk was arranged ahead of former U.S. president Bill Clinton's talk on the global economy on purpose, said Ambir's CEO Ian Cavanagh. Ambir does work in India and Cavanagh recently returned from a trade mission in China. He wants New Brunswick business leaders to realize their strengths and how tap into markets abroad, given cultural differences between countries. "Educate yourselves on how the world is changing so you're prepared for it and can respond to it," Cavanagh said. © Telegraph-Journal 2008
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Anita Punamiya, the executive director of Saint John-based business education firm CompreCultures, echoed Sampath's remarks about understanding business partners and employees in foreign countries. She said when western businesspeople meet with their counterparts in some Asian countries, the nods and smiles they see there do not always imply agreement. "'Yes,' may not mean 'I agree,' " Punamiya said. "It could mean 'I hear you.' " Punamiya said CEOs who value being perceived as equals to their employees might be frowned upon in emerging economies that are hierarchical in structure. "You have to find that magic button that allows you to lead them," she said.