Anand Mahindra says 2021 will be the year of reinvention and regeneration

Mahindra group has emerged stronger from the Covid-19 crisis and the 'strange & sinister year' 2020 will be transformed into a year of 'reinvention & regeneration' in 2021, according to the chairman of the conglomerate, Anand Mahindra.

In his New Year address to the 2.56 lakh employees of the group across 100 countries, Mahindra said in spite of all the problems brought about by the pandemic last year, "someunexpectedly great things had emerged from what seemed like an impossibly bad situation".

Drawing parallels to the development of Covid-19 vaccines, in which researchers and regulators have fast-tracked the vaccine development process to 10 months which otherwise takes 10 years, he said there are lessons for the group to learn from it in terms of following purpose-driven business, rebooting and re-evaluating.

"I thinkthe first important learning from that story is that the day of the purpose-driven business has arrived," he said adding manufacturing the vaccine is a true purpose-driven business, which is gaining currency today but the group has been at it since 1997.

An even more important lesson isthe power of a quick reboot as demonstrated by how quickly medical science abandoned its conventional approach andrebooted totacklethe new problem of Covid-19 by restructuring theirprocesses,applying the latest technology, cut out the unnecessary loopsand hoops thatresearchersused to jump through,andjust went full steam aheadtodevelop a vaccine, he added.

"Just think, until this year, do you know the average time it tookto developa vaccine – 10years.Yes 10 years. And yet,thanks tothis crisis,wehavetoday developed not one butthreeeffective vaccines, within 10 months!" Mahindra added.

Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra

Stating that he can't think of a more inspiring example than the development of Covid-19 vaccine, he said the group also emerged stronger by adopting a similar approach.

"And how did we doit? The same way as the vaccine.Byre-evaluatingour approach; by using technology and reinventing processes; by cutting out the unnecessary and the irrelevant; by using our capital more efficiently; above all, by moving with speed and agility," Mahindra added.

Exuding "enormous confidence that we stand on the verge of a new cycle of growth", Mahindra said, "This year, when weround off our 75th Anniversary celebrationson October 2nd, we will look back and our jaws will drop when we reflect on how far we have come from those first few months of paralysis from the pandemic; we will marvel at what a leap we took; what a reservoir of resilience wedrew upon."

He further said, "With this DNA that is hard wired intous, I know thatthe troubles of 2020 willberelegated to thepast. This 'strange & sinister year' will be transformed into a year of 'reinvention & regeneration' as weembark upon the third decade of the 21st century andconfidentlyset our course for our centenary."

Ending his message with a video clip of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo taking a giant leap over a defender to score a goal, Mahindra said the image he hoped "will capture what I believe we will achievein this New Year".