Leadership Needs To Be Caring In Covid Times: Mariwala

Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico has  divulged how the Marico Innovation  Foundation had enticed Indian  entrepreneurs to manufacture healthcare  gear to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.  Speaking at a recent BW Dialogue on Leadership,   Mariwala said entrepreneurs were egged on to create  the best quality PPE and masks, as well as ventilators  and respirators. Shortlisted entrepreneurs, he said, now  use Marico’s distribution system across India to market   these masks. “And, our target is to distribute 20 lakh  masks as well as help them with e-commerce,” he said.  

Speaking of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,   Mariwala said, “This is something none of us had  anticipated. So, I think there has been a huge set  of learning.” He felt that the pandemic had simply  accelerated a trend that had already set in. “This has  led to a high degree of acceleration,” he said referring  to ecommerce and the digital medium. Mariwala felt  that the digital journey had simply been accelerated  – be it e-learning, e-meetings, e-consultations,    e-prescriptions, or e-commerce.  

“The leadership requirements of (the) Covid (induced   situation) has changed dramatically. Ultimately, it boils  down to exhibiting a leadership style that is authentic,  caring, that has a lot of empathy and proactively  resolves anxiety and stress. The need to communicate  is very, very high,” Mariwala said emphatically. It was  necessary for industry leaders, he felt, “to not only take  care of their own members and also their families, but  also to communicate to their teams that this too shall   pass.”  

Mariwala said his company had somewhat escaped  the downturn triggered by the pandemic and that   the company’s business was doing well because of its  focus on the ‘essentials’. “Now I am told there is a new  category which is called super-essentials, like edible  oils, fruits, etc., we have launched a lot of products which  are in the super-essentials category,” he added. The  consumption of cooking oils and ready-to-eat food had  shot up in times when people were mostly home-bound.   “I mean we are very fortunate that our core business are  in good shape,” Mariwala said, adding, “Separately, I  have another business, which is much smaller, the Kaya  skincare business, which has not done well because of   the risk of contracting Covid, but it is now picking up.”  “I think this uncertainty is likely to continue for some  time.” he said, looking ahead. “All of a sudden, things will   improve, there will be a need for extra people coming in.  If things don’t improve, there will be a need to ensure that  we improve our cost structures,” he mused.