Change and Thrive

Change and Thrive
Innovation (BT cover, May 30) reinforces the Schumpeterian truth of living in a competitive business environment in which companies need to innovate constantly if they have to succeed. Thanks to globalisation, Indian companies have started to innovate aggressively in products, services, business models and organisational structures.

— Alok Rai, Chennai

A Culture of Innovation
Even for big business houses, innovation is no longer a luxury but a basic governance choice. Given that innovation makes a material difference between success and failure, companies, their managements and boards are creating institutional frameworks for new ideas and innovation to thrive within diverse business eco-systems. Sadly, innovation, for most Indian companies, has been more a matter of a low pricing or incremental improvements in the production process rather than the use of new ideas.

— Neha Thakur, Kolkata

Dawn of a New Age
The climate for innovation in India is getting better now than it was a few years ago. With MNCs and global companies embracing reverse innovation, where low cost products are developed in emerging markets such as India and then sold worldwide, we seem to have finally entered the age of innovation. And as India continues to open its market to foreign competition, the pressure to innovate will increase and accelerate the development of our innovation ecosystem.

— Shashi Shekhar, Bangalore

Movies and Piracy
Moser Baer—Taking on Piracy, Profitably (BT, May 30) claims that the company's inexpensive CDs and DVDs are making a dent on film piracy. However, very few new movies are available in Moser Baer prints. Also, it is inaccurate to say that these inexpensive CDs and DVDs will cut into the business of cinema halls. Watching movie in a theatre is an altogether different experience and will continue to draw audiences.

— M. Kumar, Delhi

A Hot-Java Read
India's Coffee King (BT cover, May 16) offered an enjoyable read. The mature treatment of the subject made the story stand out. Without letting any fawning description of the person to creep into the story, you have been able to present a balanced and objective profile of V.G. Siddhartha and his business empire.

— M.S.Thimmappa, Bangalore

Role Convergence
The roles of both CFOs and CEOs have a lot in common today (India's Best CFOs, BT cover, May 2). Traditionally, the CEO has been more the driver and visionary focussed on people and values, while the CFO was more the problem-solver and the analyser. However, while CEOs need analytical skills today, CFOs need vision and are expected to contribute to the organisation's strategic thinking.

— Vineet Achyut, Delhi