Where the Story started
In the heart of Denmark, Novo Nordisk’s global headquarters was once bustling with the hum of collaboration and ambition. But as the pharmaceutical landscape grew fiercer and margins tightened, the undeniable reality of transformation set in. A wave of difficult decisions swept through the corridors — thousands of employees faced layoffs, signaling not just a contraction, but a necessary reset. Yet, amid this challenging storm, a beacon of opportunities can emerge thousands of miles away in Bengaluru. The Global Business Services (GBS) center in India was once seen as a support function. Now, it can stand ready to step into a vital, strategic role. It is poised to become the engine that would help stabilize, innovate, and propel the entire organization forward. This is crucial in an era demanding agility and innovation. This is the story of how challenge can become a catalyst for reinvention and strength.
Why GBS / GCC?
First, let me tell you why GBS /GCC are important. During market fluctuations the first thing organisations needs to save is cost. GBS /GCC’s in India are known for centralizing and standardizing business processes. They reduce redundancies and lower costs. This enables companies to remain financially resilient. These centers provide the ability to quickly scale up operations in response to changing business needs, enhancing organizational agility. GBS/GCC’s lead the adoption of automation, AI, and data analytics, which improves process speed, accuracy, and insight-driven decision-making critical for navigating uncertainties. Offloading transactional and support tasks to GBS/GCC’s allows corporate headquarters and business units to concentrate on core strategic priorities and innovation. Diversified global delivery models in GBS/GCC’s help mitigate risks related to geopolitical, economic, or operational disruptions in any single location.
With the organization’s HQ downsizing, the strategic role of India GBS becomes even more critical as a force multiplier to help Novo Nordisk navigate disruption, enhance competitiveness, and sustain growth globally.
My Interpretation of Downsizing
I see the downsizing as a deliberate move to sharpen focus, not a retreat. I interpret it as cutting duplication, simplifying spans and layers, and channeling capital into core science, digital platforms, and patient access. I believe roles were consolidated so high-impact teams can move faster with clear ownership and outcome targets. I expect fixed costs to shift to variable where it makes sense, with automation removing toil. I also see global delivery concentrating where skills and scale are strongest. To me, this creates a leaner operating model that protects innovation, strengthens compliance, and sustains long-term competitiveness while positioning the company to rehire into future growth.
When the map changes, upgrade the compass
The Post-Layoff Reality: What Breaks First
Like yin and yang, every upside carries its shadow; progress and pain arrive as a pair. From where I sit, here’s what tends to break first right after a sudden layoff.
- Knowledge exits with people.
- Morale dips and survivor guilt grows.
- Workload spikes and burnout risk rises.
- Role ambiguity slows decisions.
- Handoffs break and run-ops get fragile.
- Trust erodes with HQ and partners.
- Quality, compliance, and security gaps appear.
- Talent flight accelerates.
- Innovation stalls as teams switch to maintenance.
- Communication vacuums fuel rumors.
Stability is an outcome of clarity, not comfort.
Mindset First: Shifts That Rewire GBS for Strength
Resilience is not bounce-back. It is build-forward.
Now, instead of dwelling on what broke, we shift our mindset to what we can rewire for strength.
1) From “my tasks” → “we own outcomes”
What I Mean: Success is the business result, not the tickets you closed. You measure work by impact on uptime, cost, speed, and quality. You trade low-value tasks for moves that shift the metric.
2) From hoarding → teaching by default
What I Mean: Knowledge only counts when others can use it. You assume every process needs a quick guide and a short demo so the team can run without you tomorrow.
3) From narrow roles → T-shaped resilience
What I Mean: You stay deep in your specialty and add one or two adjacent skills. This raises the bus factor, smooths handoffs, and keeps services stable during churn.
4) From tribal knowledge → “process as product”
What I Mean: Processes have owners, versions, SLAs, and change logs like real products. Anyone can follow them. Auditors can verify them. New hires can run them.
Teach so you can leave. Document so anyone can lead.
5) From overwork → sustainable cadence
What I Mean: We cap work-in-progress and protect focus time. We say no when capacity is full. Reliability comes from rhythm, not heroics.
6) From request-taker → strategic partner
What I Mean: We do not just accept asks. We frame options, costs, risks, and a recommendation. We optimize for enterprise outcomes, not local preferences.
7) From rumor → radical clarity
What I Mean: Facts beat speculation. Priorities, risks, and decisions are published on a fixed cadence in one place. Everyone knows what changed and why.
8) From heroics → load-balanced teams
What I Mean: No single point of failure. Work moves to where skills and capacity exist. Recognition goes to the system that prevents fires, not to firefighters.
Why Resilience Now
Given the new reality, resilience is the lever we need now.
- Work will be uneven for months.
- Systems are more fragile after exits.
- Patients, customers, and regulators do not pause.
- Resilience converts shocks into advantage: faster learning, broader skills, tighter focus.
Patients, customers, and regulators do not pause.
Call to Action
If you feel for colleagues who exited, channel it into action. Make GBS more strategic now—own outcomes, teach fast, codify knowledge, and run a resilient cadence—so the company stabilizes and grows. Do this with clarity and discipline, and you create the conditions for those colleagues to return soon.
Authority is assigned. Ownership is chosen
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