Cedar Podcasts

Healthcare places immense expectations on the pharmaceutical industry, with R&D at its core. Globally, pharma companies invest 15–19% of revenues in R&D, yet outcomes remain uncertain: only one drug emerges from 5,000–10,000 compounds, often costing $250–500 million, and just 3 in 10 drugs recover their R&D investment. Despite rising R&D spend, new molecule approvals have slowed an...

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) introduced Consumer Protection Standards (CPS) in February 2021 to ensure fair treatment, transparency and responsible financial practices across all Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs). As the UAE financial sector grows rapidly, these regulations aim to promote integrity, competitiveness and a level playing field, while strengthening trust between institutio...

Regulatory reform has become a continuous change-management imperative for financial institutions, accelerated by post-pandemic digitalization and tighter regulatory scrutiny on technology, data and operational risks. Banks must adapt using a structured approach built around the three Es: Envision, Evaluate and Execute. Envision focuses on understanding regulations end-to-end by identifying stakeh...

Europe has led global regulatory innovation in the data-driven economy through GDPR and open banking (PSD2), offering key lessons for the world. GDPR has become a global benchmark for data protection, granting individuals strong rights over their personal data and forcing organizations to rethink data collection, consent and retention practices. While compliance costs have been significant—especia...

Islamic finance is a Sharia-compliant financial system rooted in principles developed over 1,400 years ago from the Quran and Sunnah. It emphasizes ethical, interest-free, and socially responsible finance. Core principles include the prohibition of interest (riba), avoidance of excessive uncertainty (gharar) and gambling (maysir), risk sharing, asset-backed transactions, transparency, and investme...

A digital core banking system is essential for banks to innovate faster and respond to evolving customer expectations for personalized, efficient, and digital-first services. While many banks have launched modern apps and websites, true digital transformation cannot be achieved at the channel level alone. It requires digitization across the entire bank, anchored by a modern digital core. A future-...

The article explores how organizations can effectively manage change by first understanding its nature and impact. Change typically occurs at three levels: unit-level, business-unit-level, and enterprise-level. Unit-level changes are short-term, focused, and quicker to implement, such as sales or customer-focus initiatives. Business-unit changes span functions like operations or finance, take long...

Indirect procurement covers non-resale goods and services such as IT, facilities, and professional services and remains a largely under-exploited source of value. Its share of spending varies by sector, but typically represents a 2–4% revenue opportunity that can be redirected to growth. Value leakage persists due to four challenges: lack of leadership focus, limited strategic procurement skills,...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International In a world obsessed with rapid digital transformation, many banks have lost sight of their core purpose. While innovation is essential, the "scorching pace" of change—such as updating apps multiple times a month—risks overwhelming users who can only absorb so much at once. The author argues that juggling hundreds of tech p...

A successful loyalty program can significantly boost customer lifetime value and long-term profitability, but without meticulous planning, it risks becoming a "white elephant" that drains margins. The foundation of a viable program rests on four pillars: financial clarity, strategic targeting, robust processes, and organizational infrastructure. Retailers must define clear financial goal...

In this episode, Chetan Parekh from Cedar Consulting emphasizes that transaction banking has become a top priority for corporate banks. As low interest rates shift revenue from interest to fee income, banks are targeting a $1 trillion global opportunity. To improve profitability, banks must lower their cost-to-income ratios by choosing to be market disruptors rather than being disrupted. Parikh su...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International Companies seek performance-oriented cultures, but unlocking human capital depends on how individual performance is measured. Traditional KPIs often failed to deliver results, leading organizations to adapt the Balanced Scorecard originally designed for enterprise performance for individual performance management. When applied correc...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International Board compensation and performance have come under increasing scrutiny, especially where pay appears disconnected from company outcomes. A core principle is that directors must actively participate to be paid; over-boarded directors who miss meetings undermine governance. Boards are collectively responsible for strategic oversight,...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International There is growing global concern that bank CEOs and CFOs are excessively paid, prompting closer review of executive compensation practices. Analysis of leading banks shows that relying solely on short-term financial performance to assess executives is flawed. Banks must balance financial and non-financial measures, such as digital tr...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International An HR Scorecard, based on the Balanced Scorecard framework, helps make the HR function more valuable, focused, and performance-driven. It provides a “cockpit view” of HR by identifying the top 20–25 strategic HR objectives, the measures and targets to track them, and the key initiatives required to deliver results. Since HR is not a...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International The Balanced Scorecard is a globally recognized framework for enterprise performance management and strategy deployment. In challenging economic conditions, it provides a structured and disciplined approach to executing cost reduction and risk management strategies. The framework links four perspectives financial, customer, process,...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International Market research and competitive intelligence serve different purposes, and their value depends on how the insights are used. Basic market research provides quick, low-cost snapshots of market size, growth, segmentation, and customer preferences, making it useful for day-to-day tactical decisions. However, it is static, backward-look...

Organizations face constant, high-stakes decisions—from competitive moves and customer demands to supply disruptions and market share shifts—yet decision-making is often reactive, rushed, and based on incomplete or unreliable information. Traditional market research is slow, noisy, expensive, and poorly aligned to real decision needs, while internal intelligence is fragmented and anecdotal. As a r...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of the global economy, yet strategic planning and performance management are often seen as practices reserved for large corporations. This assumption is flawed. For SMEs, enterprise performance must go beyond short-term financial results, which are lag indicators and do not reflect long-term sustainability. Driving sustained performance require...

The HR Scorecard, built on the principles of the Balanced Scorecard, provides a structured, performance-oriented framework to enhance the effectiveness and credibility of the HR function. It offers a cockpit view of HR by defining 20–25 clear objectives, aligned performance measures and targets, and a focused portfolio of priority initiatives. As HR is not a direct revenue generator, its primary p...

Successful business models place the customer—not products—at the center of the organization. As customer needs evolve, companies that fail to adapt risk losing relevance. Given the significant effort involved in acquiring customers, long-term value is created by deepening relationships rather than treating them as transactional. This is where Key Account Management (KAM) becomes critical. Not eve...

Measuring performance is a science, but selecting the right measures is an art. The Balanced Scorecard provides a proven enterprise performance management framework that aligns strategy and measurement across financial, customer, process, people, and technology dimensions. In today’s dynamic environment, organizations need a focused strategic roadmap—typically 20–25 clear, SMART objectives coverin...

Modern organizations invest heavily in talent, technology, and innovation, yet many continue to struggle with profitability, market share, and talent retention. Engagement initiatives alone deliver limited impact when employee rewards are disconnected from enterprise performance. In today’s environment, compensation can no longer be guaranteed; it must be earned through measurable contribution. Th...

Read the article on breakthrough strategies using Cedar's Balanced Scorecard by Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International Breakthrough Strategy is a fast-track strategic framework designed for young, high-growth companies facing pressure to scale quickly while preserving focus and financial discipline. As early-stage firms move beyond entrepreneurial agility, they requ...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International This episode of Cedar’s Leadership Podcast explores how high-growth organisations across India and the Middle East can bring strategic clarity without losing momentum. Sanjiv Anand and the Cedar leadership team unpack the Elite Balanced Scorecard framework and how it converts strategy from a slow, complex planning ritual into a shar...