It feels good that we are finally out of recession. We had a sound plan and the best thing that worked for Google in India was sticking to our plan. We used challenging times as an opportunity for introspection. We realised that by not going overboard, and at the same time gathering knowledge about things around us, we channelled that energy into something constructive.
We were very introspective, asking questions like, have we allocated resources to the right thing, have we prioritised the work we do, and do we have the right people doing the right things. The end of 2008 was a great opportunity for us to ask those questions. And what we learnt was that we could have done a lot better. We could have been a lot more efficient. We could do a better job on reporting and on prioritising.
These are the major lessons that came out strongly for us: one, don?t let momentary dips or good times distract you from your plan; and second, don?t ignore the environment around you, rather, channel that environment into something constructive. Recession was a time when we made sure that we were operating in the most efficient manner possible.
I liked the model that we used this time. If there is another recession, we may be in a better position to face it. The first three quarters of calendar 2009 have been of strong growth. I have never felt as bullish about our presence in India as I do today. Q4 2008 and Q1 2009 were difficult, Q2 was extremely successful, and at the end of Q2, that is June, we were optimistic, though we didn?t assume that we were out of the woods. By Q3, we felt comfortable, as the fundamentals of business felt very solid.
I had said in the last quarter of 2008 that the recession was more of the mind than of the economy. The good thing about India was that it didn?t have the fundamentals that drove recession in the US, it didn?t pursue the risk-taking financial behaviour of the US and Western Europe. Rather, it pursued an appropriately conservative and risk-mitigating approach. Though there were sectors that were hit, especially export-dependent sectors, at the macro-level, the country wasn?t hit much.
India?s rapid growth prior to the recession was well timed. Probably, the recession was simply an opportunity to catch our breath and for some introspection and reflection. At times, it?s a good thing to burn your fingers and learn. We are certainly going to come out of these times cleaner and better than ever.
On cost-management I would say that our techniques were very basic.
For instance, we became a lot smarter about procurement?when do you need something and when don?t you. Basically, we learnt a lesson in common sense. Our managers learnt a lesson in being a bit more frugal, but not frugal to a fault. We became RoI focused in a lot of our marketing activities. Broadly, we realised that it?s easy to say yes, but difficult to say no, when saying no is much more important than saying yes. I am extremely bullish on 2010. India gives us a great opportunity, as we are among the fastest growing Internet markets in the world. But we still need more investment in the Internet and broadband, we need to aggressively push 3G, promote access to mobile Internet and we need advertisers to make digital advertising an integral part of their marketing mix.
