VISTA through the ages

Well, as the sundry new year resolution takers would vouch, the old must be ringed out to ring in the new. But before we sweep the past under the carpets of nostalgia, let us dust up the pensieve and cast a glance into the glorious past that has been – the quantum leaps that Vista has taken year after year to catapult itself to the status of being THE Business fest of the nation.

Vista began its illustrious journey 5 years ago, inspired by our Hon’ble former first man’s inspirational words of making a “New India” through his “Vision 2020”. As the premier B-school of the country, IIMB took up cudgels to ensure they lead the future business leaders of the nation into shaping this ambition into concrete reality. In the backdrop of a nation that was galvanizing like never before, Vista took its first steps and entered the scene not with a whimper, but with a BANG. Need we say – “One tiny step for Vista, One giant leap for businesskind”

Innovation was the buzzword of 2004, and Vista was at the forefront of it. The box was shattered left, right and center as in-the-box was out and out-of-the-box was in. Vista 2004 epitomized the “Strategize-Execute-Innovate” anthology and ignited the fire of innovation in the future business leaders of the world.

As India was bursting on to the global stage in all its glory, Vista was mirroring the exuberance of nation by the T. Dreams were dreamt, realities were explored and the thin wall separating the two was shattered to naught as India Inc. realized that it was time for it to cut loose and drive itself into the next orbit. Vista 2005 verily personified “India Unbound”

No wall is wide enough, if you are willing to stretch your arms. And no hurdle tall enough if you are ready to take the leap. This was what Vista 2006 stood for and proved in equal measure. Walls separating the customer and the organization, the culture and the market, the specialist and the generalist were all torn down as the world awoke to the synergy that these symbiotic associations liberated. Barriers were transcended, both in the mind and in reality.

Come 2007 and Vista was now in full bloom. In a world that was reinventing itself to meet the needs of the new era, Vista upheld the masthead of rebusiness – doing business differently. The theme struck an instant chord with the corporate world & the media alike. The emerging new gamut of business practices was invoked and business leaders came together under the umbrella of Vista to chart the future course of business in a way that had never been done before.

The slow one will later be fast
And the present now will soon be the past
The order is rapidly fading
The first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a-changin’…. (Bob Dylan)

As a new sun looms over the business world,  the world is awaking to a paradigm shift.  From corporate titans to the scribes of the journalism, the ‘Emerging Economies’ phenomenon, until now a textbook phrase has become a buzzword.

The rise of these economies in the Asian and South American continents is touted as the beginning of the end - of the hegemony of the global superpowers. These countries have caught everyone’s imagination prompting a beeline to set up shop. A wave of acquisitions and innovative corporate structures is emerging as these economies grow from strength to strength.

‘Emerging economies. Emerging Realities’ is the theme of the 2008 edition of Vista. The theme explores the beginnings of the ‘Emerging Economies’, their ascension to global prominence and amidst a crisis of epic proportions that threatens to derail the global juggernaut, their struggle to keep their exalted positions alive in the midst of a worldwide upheaval.

For India, this reality check is of paramount importance. With unprecedented economic growth coupled with the recognition from the powers that be, India was seemingly at the cusp of global economic might. The realities today, however, point elsewhere… the specter of inflation, plummeting capital markets and the instability of the political system have slipped a cloak of gloom on its once - splendid future. Will India emerge from this fog? Will it regain its former resplendence?

These, and more, are some of the questions that Vista 2008 will seek to answer.