One has the force of vision and the ambition to change the world. The other has the resources and abilities needed to make it a reality.

Until recently, most Net ventures were ‘pure-plays’—start-ups that had little or no relation to the brick-and-mortar aspect of business. Now, these brick-and- mortar empires are putting in place their own Net initiatives to reclaim the high ground in the raging battle for the new economy—The Empire Strikes Back. But, the Net is not just another initiative.

With its possibilities governed more by imagination than by mere workplans, the Net is not something that can be easily captured by the Stormtroopers of the empire. The young entrepreneurs (Jedis), with their force of vision and ambition, would be hard to dislodge from their high-tech bastions.
Yet, more often than not, these Jedis lack the resources to make their vision a reality. Brick-and-mortar empires and the dotcom rebels need each other. Together they can revolutionise business and society.

Why?

One has the force of vision and the ambition to change the world. The other has the resources and abilities needed to make it a reality.

Empires are no strangers to vision. Most were born with the vision of a founding entrepreneur. And this is especially true in India. However, that vision has not really succeeded in galvanising organisations to the extent it should have. Instead, it has been translated into systems, processes, and policies, which are then used to govern employees in an old-e mode.

There are but a few at the top who are burdened with guarding the vision and ensuring that the organisation stays the course. Stormtroopers—employees of the empire—move to the beat of task-lists, not to the beat of futuristic visions.

Start-ups are at the other end of the spectrum. With little in the way of coherent policies, these individuals rely on the ‘force’ of their vision and ambition to drive their ventures. Their vision is shared and accepted across all the employees (Jedis) in these avant garde organisations. But there is a price to pay for being at the cutting edge. These visionary organisations often lack the resources to carry through projects to their logical end.

In places like India, empires have immense reach into, and influence over, many aspects of society. They can accelerate or hinder a revolution. In a co-ordinated, concerted effort, these empires can help move a system that many start-ups would find difficult to navigate. But bringing these two worlds together is no easy task.

How?

The first step is to create a unit separate from the rest of the brick-and-mortar businesses. This will give the empire enough freedom to define a new model of governance necessary to attract talent of the right kind—the Jedis.

The harder step is to allow the new unit to have a different model of governance. Brick-and-mortar businesses may still be governed by annual budgets and long-term plans. They have decision-making centralised in the governing body. However, the business models and realities of the Net evolve at a more rapid pace, at times needing to be re-written every 90 days. The new unit should have the freedom and flexibility to change, to adapt, to experiment, to fail, to succeed. That’s a set of freedoms rarely granted to brick-and-mortar units.

This is not a call for chaotic freedoms. The new unit should still have budgets and workplans, roles and responsibilities. But, unlike traditional budgets and workplans, they may not unfold as planned. Leaders need to be ready to re-examine them on a regular basis. And support the team through the turbulence. A team on the ground, at the front lines, who are driven by the ‘force’ of a single vision, can change and adapt while staying true to the original vision.

The next stop? Those employees who are transferred to the new unit should be the ones with the ability to marshal influence across the empire. They should ideally have the respect and knowledge of the empire. Their goal is to ensure that the new unit draws together the resources and assets of the brick-and-mortar businesses. These employees are likely to be your best Stormtroopers.

The final ingredient is respect. Sometimes it’s easy for Jedis and Stormtroopers to fall into traditional roles, one ruling by the force of vision, the other by the rules of the empire.

It is imperative that they all share a common vision and understanding of what they are trying to achieve. And it is imperative that they all understand and accept the rules of the empire. By doing this, they will become one big team, built on respect for each other, and the force of their common vision.

Epilogue

It may be that empires believe they can pursue Net opportunities using traditional approaches. However, they will not move fast enough to learn and capture all the possibilities. It may be that upstarts would rather rely on their own entrepreneurial instincts.

But these upstarts will not realise their vision because they lack the resources to martial a revolution. For both, there may be a subtle truth in the fact that Darth Vader (the greatest Stormtrooper) was Luke Skywalker’s (the greatest Jedi knight) father.

Rohit Bhagat is the Head of The Boston Consulting Group's e-Commerce Practice, James Abraham is Director, The Boston Consulting Group's India Operations, and Ralph Heuwing is the Managing Director of The Boston Consulting Group's India Operations.

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