So this one today is written specially to thank my Baba.
If Aai taught me vocabulary, my Baba taught me to use it creatively. She gave me the language, He gave me the poetry
To The Man, like whom I can only hope to be one day.
Love you Baba
Trying to hit a perfect 10...
Maternal Instincts of the Business World
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to
think.” ― Margaret Mead
Reading this quote made me wonder; did my mother follow
this? On further introspection, I realized that she did; she never forced me to
do anything, she just introduced me to ideas. For instance, reading. It started
with reading me bedtime stories to encouraging me to read the newspaper out
loud, then following it up with getting me children’s books when she realized
that I enjoyed reading. She never forced upon me any hobby or interest, she
introduced me to new activities, observed whether I developed any interest for
them and when she saw that interest, she encouraged me to explore it further.
Today, when I read books, write articles, speak at public
events, I may not openly acknowledge it, but it is because of that foundation
which she laid for me, that I have been able to build my entire skill set. If
we look at parallels for this in the business world, then I would say this is
what one means by mentorship - a maternal approach to refine the next
generation.
Just like a mother, a mentor needs to understand the
protégés pros & cons, observe their inclinations and guide them to build on
their positive attributes and work on mitigating the effect of those attributes
which are holding him/her back from growing, and in turn, help his/her success
journey.
It is a wrong belief that only a select few can be protégés.
It is however, true that a select few understand and cope with the mentor’s
guidance. That’s why, we see only few successful mentor-protégé relationships.
As a leader, I look at myself as a mentor to all who are junior to me. It is
then up to the juniors, whether they want to continue being my protégés or not.
A leader leads by example, but a mentor leads by aligning
the examples as per the protégé’s - needs. The objective of mentorship is not
to create your own replica but use your experience to help the protégé become a
better and a more successful version of himself/herself. Spoon-feeding never
works in mentorship; the mentor is the guide, but the efforts and the
intelligence has to be that of the protégé.
Considering my deep interest in Hindu mythology, I would
give the example of Lord Krishna & Arjun on the Kurukshetra battlefield. Lord
Krishna being the charioteer made sure that he guided Arjun to be present at
the right place at the right time, be a silent force helping & guiding him
behind the scenes. In the end, all the hard work was that of Arjun. Lord Krishna
was the ideal mentor, a man with skills to finish things on his own. However, he
chose to take a backseat, giving an opportunity to his protégé to use his
skills and shine in the battlefield.
Mentors also need to realize theirs as well as their
protégé’s limitations. Not every protégé has the same skills or intelligence. It
is thus the job of the mentor to assess the extent to which a person can
improve and guide them to that point. To develop the protégé into the best
version of himself, is what the mentor can do. A mentor is not expected to
create a new person all together.
One of the most important flaws in mentors also runs
parallel to mothers; not letting go of their babies. As they know that
they have a key role in creating this person, it is difficult to let go of that
person when he/she wishes to leave the nest. But mentors must realize that it
was their duty to guide the protégés till the point from where they can take
off on their own and fight their own battles, probably go on to be mentors to
others. Stopping them is wasting all the effort spent in mentoring them. So,
“Let Go”.
And, as they say “A ship in harbor is
safe — but that is not what ships are built for”
P.S. – This article is dedicated to all my mentors notably
My Father, Mr. Vaibhav Patkar, Mr. Suresh Dadlani, Mr. Kishor Vaswani, Mr.
Satya Rane and most importantly my MOTHER, who though not with me in flesh
today, will live on through all my successes and victories.
"Remember that night has nothing
to do with sleep. It was created by God to raid territory held by your enemy.
The night is your shield , your screen against the cannons and
swords of vastly superior enemy forces" – Shrimant Bajirao Ballal Peshwa
What an interesting quote by one of the greatest cavalry
generals the world has seen, this is supposed to be what he had told Shrimant Chimaji
Ballal Peshwa as part of his lessons on military and warfare strategy. Being an
ardent fan of history, majorly Maratha History, these strategies and tactics
have always intrigued me. From the time of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the
founder of Maratha Empire, to Peshwa Bajirao Saheb, under whom the Marathas
started their expansion, it has always been a David vs Goliath kind of
situation. But the Marathas managed to emerge victorious even in these
situations with sound strategies and techniques which can prove as excellent
pointers for business leaders today.
One of my favourite historians late Mr. Ninad Bedekar in one
of his speeches had said that Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj definitely followed
an analysis technique which is taught as a base to every management student
today – SWOT Analysis. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats; if
we see the actions taken by Chattrapati Shivaji to Peshwa Bajirao Saheb and
even further ahead we see the use of these tools effectively to analyze
situations and take actions.
In this article I wish to list some of the pointers used by these great leaders and try to corelate them in today’s business terms.
Be Aware of your Environment
-
One of the greatest reasons of Maratha
dominance during Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was effective use of Sahyadris,
the treacherous mountain ranges surrounded by dense jungles. The Mughals who
were used to open land / plains warfare could not understand or adjust to this
environment and lost. But in the times of Peshwa Bajirao, he took the battles
to plains of the North, so he had to unlearn to some extent the strategies
which were earlier used and get acclimatized to the new battle fields.
-
Similarly in today’s business scenarios,
leaders need to be aware of the different markets they are entering, the pros
and cons of the market, the work culture in the market, key players in the
market (competitors & prospective customers).
-
It is important to know your competitors, their
strengths and weaknesses.
-
It is important to acclimatize to different
markets for developing winning strategies; one needs to realize that no two
markets or regions can be treated in the same way.
A winning strategy in market A need not
necessarily be a winner in market B.
-
So the important thing is learn and improvise,
that will be a winning mantra.
Tactical Retreats
-
In battles tactical retreats can sometimes be
wise decision and a good strategy. A good example in Maratha history is the
“Treaty of Purandar” where Shivaji Maharaj decided that it was wiser to
negotiate a deal with the Mughals and live to fight another day.
-
Similarly in business it is key for all leaders
to analyze and understand when it is time to step back or let go. You win some,
you loose some it is part of the game.
-
There might be some contracts or region however
seemingly profitable, but in the larger picture might have impact on service
delivery or company morale or organizational reputation, then it should be
prudent to take that step back and live to fight another day.
Know your enemies
-
Keep your friends close but enemies closer.
-
Bahirji Naik, the head of spies for Shivaji
Maharaj made sure that the king was always updated about the enemy – like its
strategies, resources, strengths, weaknesses, probable actions etc. This would
help the Marathas plan their strategies which countered that of their enemies.
-
Now, in the business world I don’t mean to
imply that we should have spies and indulge in corporate espionage. However, it
is always prudent to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, it
could be a learning experience.
Speed & Agility
-
Bajirao Peshwa is supposed to have travelled
1.8 million kms. in the 20 years he ruled. He could do this because led a
cavalry charge, no cannons, no elephants, no infantry, this gave him speed and
agility. The iconic “Battle of Palkhed” was won just on these elements of
agility and swift mobility, it was a bloodless victory.
-
Similarly in the world of business, speed is
the key, being a first mover and a fast mover gives a certain advantage over
competitors. But the key with this speed is to get the right balance, being too
early in the market can equally hurt as being too late in the market.
-
Agility is another key attribute, any business
must have the flexibility to be agile enough to adjust according to market
requirements. In business world we might term it as customization, of course it
should never be done in a manner to completely modify the business objectives,
but an acceptable level of customizations should be a part of standard
considerations for any business.
Make Effective Allies
-
One of the biggest factor for the loss of Third
Battle of Panipat was the inability of stitching together effective alliances.
Without getting into to the political debates about these failed alliances
then, the lesson to be learnt is that effective partners or support is a very
necessary weapon in one’s arsenal.
-
In business terms it means that we need to be
on the lookout for effective partners or consultants depending on the regions
being handled. Presence of a local partner or local reference in new territories
is a very effective tool for increasing visibility of a business.
-
It is however very important to conduct
efficient due diligence to ensure that the partners taken on board are good for
our organization, its reputation and will be long-term partners.
Lead from Front
-
Killing of Afzal Khan, Attack on Lal Mahal, 40
battles fought by Bajirao Peshwa, Third Battle of Panipat all had one most
important thing in commo,n the leaders led from front. Shivaji Maharaj, Bajirao
Peshwa, Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa all ensured that all these critical battles and
attacks had them leading the charge fighting alongside their comrades.
-
This is the most important virtue every leader
should have, sitting in offices and just pushing work onto others does not make
one a “Leader”, it just makes one a “Boss”. A Leader is the one who works with
his resources, ensuring that issues if any are directly taken on by the leader,
clear direction and path forward is demonstrated.
-
Do not misunderstand this to not delegating
work, it just means that work should be delegated and not pushed onto juniors.
But even after delegating the work the responsibility of the outcome should
still be with the leader, this is what will instill confidence and trust in the
team.
Having mentioned the above, I would like to submit that these
similar techniques might have been used by other martial races across India or
World, however my keen interest in Maratha history is reason the above examples
use the “Maratha Way”
P.S. – This is my small and silent tribute to late Mr. Ninad
Bedekar, his speeches on Maratha History inspired me to look at this subject in
a deeper sense than what I earlier did. Thank you Sir.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” – Jack Welch
One of my mentors and an extraordinary leader himself Mr.
Suresh Dadlani, always used to quote Mr. Jack Welch during our numerous
discussions on topics ranging from business strategies, operations, leadership
etc. Based on his thoughts I started reading a few of Jack Welch’s books and
quotes.
The one above stuck with me the most, “success is all
about growing others”. This is a key factor in defining a leader or
leadership qualities. Leadership positions are all about human resource
management, if a leader is able to master that then the team’s success is for
granted.
My ongoing metamorphosis from being a normal employee to a
leader is filled with such multiple learnings from my bosses, mentors and
seniors. Each experience teaches me a new lesson in leadership, so even though leadership
as a concept is extremely fluid and has to change with every generation that
engage with your leadership, the base for any leader remains the same.
In this article, I wish to share some points which I, based
on my on-ground experiences, feel is important for all leaders.
-
Don’t just Hear…“Listen!!”:
o
One needs to understand the stark difference
between “hearing” and “listening”.
o
Hearing is simply the act of
perceiving sound by the ear, it is involuntary, effortless. Listening however
is something an individual consciously chooses to do, which means that an
effort is put in this action. Which makes it a focused and concentrated action.
o
So, for any leader listening to
team-mates is very important, be it their work plans, grievances,
appreciations, complaints, even gossip. This gives the leader a good
perspective and reasoning on what is actionable and what is not.
-
Actions speak louder than words:
o
A leader needs to take action on any actionable
inputs from the team.
o
Actions might include taking hard decisions; however,
these actions need to be impartial.
-
Give Chances…Take Chances:
o
Identify raw talent in team members, be it
freshers or experienced, and give chance for them to grow.
o
Leaders should be ready to give free hand to
team members who show promise at the same time supervising to ensure that
nothing goes wrong.
o
In case of mistakes ensure that you show them
the right direction and encourage them to move forward instead of cutting them
off in fear.
o
Taking these calculated risks can create
wonders in terms of resource development, encouragement at the same time
ensuring that your team trusts you.
- What you
Sow, so shall you Reap:
o However senior a leader, as long as he/she
respects everyone straight to the junior most team member, is when he/she gets
the respect back from the team.
o Trust and
respect are two of the strongest pillars for any leader to lead his/her team to
success and both these values are reciprocal in nature. Also, you cannot force
any of these values onto your team, they need to be earned.
o Every
leader should be conscious of this and work on their actions accordingly.
- Conflict
Management:
o
Effective conflict management is one of the
most important tasks of a manager.
o
Leaders should not mistake conflict management
as conflict resolution, not always can all conflicts be resolved.
o
So, the task for a leader is to ensure that
conflicts are managed in a manner to not impact the business or working
relations in the organization.
I am sure there are many more aspects to leadership, but as
long as the above baseline remains, the rest can be tweaked and tuned as
required. Leadership is just like Excellence; it is a continuous process
and a true Leader never ceases to learn.
In January of 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and
attacked Rome, giving the world, one of the most recognizable dictators that
history shall always remember, as well as this idiom “Crossing the Rubicon”.
This basically means a point of no return.
In our professional life, especially as leaders, we
frequently come across such situations where we have to take a firm stand; a
tough decision, either by choice or by compulsion. The leader’s approach in
these situations truly defines his / her leadership.
In this article, I would try to interest you, with some approaches
I would recommend in these scenarios.
To Step out or not –
-
As a Cricket-loving nation, we know that in Cricket,
one of the key decisions a batsman has to make is the right time step out of
the crease and hit. If its too early, he might lose his wicket, and if too late,
then that may lead to the loss of an advantage.
-
In professional life, this happens when we reach
the metaphorical “Rubicon”, the defining moment.
-
A leader, in this case, needs to have a 360-degree
view of the outcomes of his decision, be it affirmative or negative.
-
If the decision is to take the firm stand, then
the leader needs to make sure all preparations are done accordingly. In such
decisions, ensuring buy-in from all relevant stakeholders (management, team
members, direct reports) etc. is very important.
-
All members who have considerable influence to
support your decision need to be kept abreast of the developments and confirm their
support before moving ahead with the action.
-
Also, a key task is to identify the trouble
areas and troublemakers who may create a negative impact, post the action. A
well thought out strategy needs to be in place, which will address this concern,
if required.
-
And as always, be prepared for the unknown -
that is a reality of life we all live with.
No Doubts / No jubilations–
-
No doubts! Once the action is taken, there is no
turning back, so don’t waste time fretting on or doubting your decision.
-
Good or Bad, Victory or Loss, the leader must
accept the outcome and act accordingly.
-
If successful; the leader, though congratulating
the members who supported the action, should refrain from publicized
jubilations, as in many cases, they may turn counter-productive and probably
lead to some dissent in the ranks.
-
A proper approach would be to accept the
victory, be generous to the loser, if there is any, and move on as any other
day in the office.
What if you lose? -
-
Pray for the best and prepare for the worst - an
old and relevant saying.
-
Winning and losing is a part of the game: you
win some, you lose some.
-
A point of no return means no roll-back
possible, there is no possibility of reverting to the original status quo. The
360-degree strategy should involve a fallback in case of a failure; a way for a
dignified exit from the situation.
-
In this situation, it is up to the leader to
ensure that the morale of others involved is not undermined.
-
The leader needs to take stock of the situation,
regroup and work out solutions. In combat terms, the leader should sound the
retreat if necessary. It’s always wiser to live and fight another day.
-
As they say, it’s not always about winning or
losing; it how you fought that defines your character.
In such situations, I always remind myself of a quote, a young
Indian Army Officer had written in his diary
Some goals are so worthy, it is glorious even to fail
– Capt. Manoj Pandey, PVC
* This article was first published
on CPO Innovation - https://cpoinnovation.com/crossing-the-rubicon/
Somewhere back in 2011-12 I worked with my team on a huge
Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFP had 4 to 5 of us working for weeks
together compiling lots of data sheets in a nice presentable format and the end
product seemed so promising that I had thought we were going to definitely win
that contract. But, unfortunately, a week post submission of the RFP response I
got to know from my boss that we had lost the deal as we had been undercut on
the pricing with some unrealistic pricing by another company. Me being new to
this process and having the impatience of youth was very saddened and
frustrated to have lost the contract after all the effort we had put in. That
is when my boss, a visionary himself, Mr. Suresh Dadlani taught me a thing
which may seem very trivial but holds a lot of value, he said “Ashish, we win
some, we lose some. It’s part of the game”.
Since our childhood we are always taught “Failures are
steppingstones to success”. As kids, we accept it at face value but we never
really try to understand the “Why” behind it; “Why is failure the stepping
stone to success?”. As management students, leaders etc. we are always taught to
only look for success and always think about winning. But the hard reality is
that failures are as much a part of the leadership journey as successes. They
may be personal/individual failures or failures of your teams and projects.
In my eyes, a leader who knows how to pick himself/herself up
after getting a bloody nose, dust off the dirt and lead a fight back, is a true
leader. So in this article I intend to focus on failing, trying to share my
knowledge, based on my experiences and also the things I learnt during my
ControlCase-sponsored 3-month
management course at the Indian School of Business and talk a little bit about
handling failure or as I call it “How to Fail??!!”
Don’t be in denial…
The most common reaction of any individual to failure is
that of denial. It’s just too hard to digest that one could fail. Then it is
followed by a blame game and this starts a vicious cycle of trying to
reallocate the cause of the failure instead of assessing it.
So, the first step in handling failure is to accept the
failure. A leader needs to be upfront and accept the failure as a person, as a
team or as a project. Also, it is important that the leader takes the heat of
the failure; the team, whatever they have done or have not done, should never
be “fed to the wolves” – figuratively speaking. It is the leader’s
responsibility to own up to the failure and shield the team from any negative
backlash in public or in the organization.
Introspect……don’t brood
Leaders do not have the luxury to sulk or brood after a
failure. The first reaction post-acceptance of failure should be damage control
and introspection. Identify the root cause of the failure, what went wrong:
people, process, technology. Get that on the table as soon as possible.
Introspection also helps in one more aspect, it helps us
come up with a corrective action plan, which is what normally any management
would want to hear after a failure.
Be Alone, Not Lonely
We have always heard a phrase – “It’s very lonely at the
top”, this holds true in all sense. The more you rise, the more you are on your
own and more accountable as an individual than ever. That is where the real
quality of leadership comes into play – managing human resources. You can be
alone at the top but as long as you have maintained excellent working relations
with your team-members, peers and seniors, you are rarely lonely when it comes
to handling failures.
Respect others and they will respect you. Help others in
their time of need and in all probability, they will stand by you in your times
of crisis. This does ease handling or facing any failures.
Regroup and reassess
Post introspection, it is imperative to regroup and reassess
with your team to discuss what was identified in the analysis of the failure.
Then the leader needs to decide whether any salvaging can be done for the
current situation or whether it is wise to let it go and take lessons learnt
for the next project.
No shame in surrender
I believe that “Live to fight another day” is the most
preferred approach when you have no other option. It is wise to let go of the
things we cannot change, accept the failure and move on to the next challenge.
The important thing for a leader is to learn from these mistakes and ensure
that they are never repeated in projects or tasks to come.
So now to answer the question which I asked before “Why
failures are steppingstones to success?” Because failures teach us lessons, as
long as we learn from these lessons to improve in future, then failure cease to
be as disheartening as they seem.