👉 Vijay Jain – Thoughts, Notes & Frameworks

When I saw Vikram Chachraa’s post about his experience with a Waymo robotaxi in San Francisco, it reminded me of a question I asked myself a decade ago. At that point, I was deeply concerned about my chauffeur and the need for him to upskill. The question in my mind was never how, but when, would driverless cars come to India?

Well, unfortunately, when I left Mumbai for a year, he left too, and with him went more than just the three years’ advance salary. I often wish he had invested that money in upskilling instead. For the next five years (2020–2025), I was without a driver—an experience that made me appreciate, firsthand, both the joys and the frustrations of navigating India’s traffic.

While it may have taken longer than expected, it’s only a matter of time. The real question is: what would it take for driverless cars to succeed in India? This highlights a hidden, high-stakes battle of strategy that most people never see—a debate on how companies are building the future of technology.

I can’t help but think that Professor Henry Mintzberg would point to Waymo and Tesla as perfect illustrations of his theory on deliberate and emergent strategies.

The Deliberate and Structured Approach

On one side, we see the deliberate and structured approach. This is the Waymo strategy: a beautifully engineered system built for a controlled, predictable environment. Their vehicles are equipped with a complex and expensive suite of sensors, including multiple LiDAR, radar, and high-resolution cameras.

This is a very deliberate, structured approach to “seeing” the world. They must meticulously map every inch of a new area before launch, making scalability a cautious, step-by-step process. Every decision is data-driven and risk-averse, designed for low-risk execution within a carefully defined box.

The Emergent and Fluid Strategy

On the other side is the emergent and fluid strategy. My mind immediately goes to the chaotic, human-driven streets of India—and the approach of companies like Tesla. A system built for this environment cannot rely on perfection.

It must learn a new language of unplanned movements, non-verbal cues, and real-time adaptation. This strategy is about building from the ground up—a system that thrives on massive, diverse datasets and learns by doing. It embraces complexity and chaos as a necessary part of the learning process.

The Deeper “Why”

As users, we see the product—the self-driving car, the seamless app—but we don’t see the strategic choices behind their creation. Media frames it as “who is winning?” instead of “what are the long-term bets?” We see the “what,” but miss the deeper “why.”

The strategic challenge in complex, unpredictable markets like India isn’t about their ‘uniqueness,’ but their fundamental difference. A refined version of an existing product won’t work here; we must build an indigenous solution, trained on local data and designed for local realities. Even if the platform is global, it will need to be trained for India.

Which Strategy is More Likely to Succeed?

A system built for a controlled, deliberate environment will always struggle with the unpredictability of a market like India. An emergent system, by design, thrives in complexity—learning from chaos and adapting in real time. This gives it an advantage in environments like India, where unpredictability is the norm.

That said, some Indian cities may experiment with more deliberate approaches—creating geo-fenced zones or even carving out dedicated lanes for driverless cars. Such hybrid solutions could provide a bridge between deliberate precision and emergent adaptability.

But the question goes beyond cars. It raises a bigger point about leadership and strategy.

Leadership in a Deliberate vs. Emergent World

When hiring leaders—or when Boards are making these decisions—the question is often: which predominant skill set should take precedence, deliberate or emergent?

• Deliberate = vision, long-term design.
• Emergent = adaptability, resilience.
• Both = empower innovation + alignment.

Adapting Strategy to Context

Do strategies need to shift depending on context? The answer is almost always yes.

• Startups: Emergent strategy is vital. You need to iterate quickly, test hypotheses, and pivot until you find product–market fit. Yet even here, certain elements remain deliberate—for example, building a diamond-centric brand in a gold-dominated market requires intentional positioning and long-term brand storytelling.
• Established players: Strategy becomes more deliberate, focused on scale, efficiency, and risk management.
• Product lifecycle: Early stages demand emergence and discovery. As a product matures, the focus shifts to deliberate optimization—cost, scale, and stability.

What Strategies Do You Use?

These tensions between deliberate and emergent approaches are not limited to driverless cars or even to India. They show up in how we build businesses, lead teams, and make decisions every day.

What about you? In your own work, do you find yourself leaning more deliberate, more emergent, or a blend of both?

#SelfDrivingCars #AutonomousVehicles #AI #Strategy #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #Waymo #Tesla #India #Technology #EmergentStrategy #DeliberateStrategy #IndiaTech #DriverlessCarsIndia

Related Reflection

For a deeper look at how different mindsets shape decision-making — whether in founders, investors, or professionals — read Possibility. Probability. Execution.
It explores how belief, analysis, and action coexist in leadership much like deliberate and emergent intelligence coexist in AI.

About the Author

Vijay Jain, Founder-Director of ORRA and former CEO of ORRA and Ritu Kumar, is a seasoned consumer and retail leader with expertise across jewellery, fashion, and wellness. He now works as an Operating Partner, Advisory Board member, and Board Advisor, guiding businesses in brand building, omnichannel growth (retail + online), and consumer insights. His leadership has consistently delivered high growth and cultural transformation, earning him a reputation for building people-first, customer-centric organisations.

Vijay has also been invited to speak at leading conferences including CII, Harvard Business School, and Google, where he shares insights on leadership, scaling consumer brands, and digital transformation. Through his writing and talks, he is recognised for bringing management ideas to life by linking global strategy frameworks with the realities of Indian markets, positioning him as a thought leader at the intersection of business, technology, and leadership.