India, Jan. 16 -- Some decades back, senior executives in large companies had a simple goal for themselves and their organisations: Stability. Shareholders wanted little more than predictable earnings growth. Because so many markets were either closed or undeveloped, leaders could deliver on those expectations through annual exercises that offered only modest modifications to their strategic plan. Prices stayed in check, people held on to their jobs and life was good. However, market transparency, labour mobility, global capital flows and instantaneous communications have blown this comfortable scenario into pieces. In most industries, and in almost all companies, heightened global competition has concentrated the management's collective ...