“Change is Inevitable, Adaptability Key”

SARAVANAN KESAVAN, Dean and Professor of Operations, BITSOM, underlines why adaptability, continuous learning and resilient leadership are essential as technology, markets and careers undergo unprecedented shifts

- By Meha Mathur

How can business schools groom leaders who can show resilience and steer their teams, amid the kind of turmoil the world has been facing on several fronts in the last few years?

We live in a world that is rapidly changing. These changes are not superficial. They occur at a fundamental level that challenges not only the assumptions we commonly make in business but also the belief system on which most businesses are based. Till a few years back, global companies assumed that outsourcing from China was a given. CEOs operated under the assumption that US treasury securities were the safest in the world. Office work was considered the only way to operate. All these assumptions have been questioned.

The next few years are ripe for further unpredictability due to climate change, anti-immigration sentiments across the world and AI. Unpredictability implies that the core skill that all B-school students need to learn is the ability to adapt. This is critical not only to lead the companies but also manage their own careers which are likely to be impacted heavily by these changes.

How is BITSOM enabling a shift in students’ understanding of viewing B-schools as a placement facilitator to a capability builder for life?