The Show That Stands

Steve Jobs was a phenomenon, much more than just another successful CEO. He is one among those visionaries who proved time and again that persistence on a chosen path can lead to reverential success.

Jobs was a visionary, I said, someone who actually changed the way people perceived something viz. Digital media! Years ago, there was another man- Dennis Ritchie who wrote some codes that laid the foundation for almost everything today including Jobs’ iPhone.

Ritchie is believed to be the father of C language and a co-creator of Unix (which later inspired many other things including Linux). We all knew about him as students. In fact some of us, like me, made it a point to buy the book he had authored on C language (it had a white cover page with a dull blue design on it, and much more boring content inside for an average newbie to programming) when we started learning the language in school. If parallels were to be drawn, there can be no dispute that Ritchie stood way too ahead of Jobs as the bigger visionary (who actually made deeper impact on the society and our life over the years).

Why would I draw such parallels? To those who haven’t seen it already on the news and social media, Jobs and Ritchie passed away around the same time. While one of them was given a heart wrenching farewell all over the globe, the other was simply overlooked. And it should not be a surprise that since we are discussing it here, it cannot have been the way that appears normal.

Yes, while Jobs was mourned all over the world, Ritchie largely drew no one’s attention on death. (Here I am reminded of an editorial that I read which said that it was surprising how Jobs was so popular in India when there was not a single direct Apple store and the i-products were so expensively priced that an average person was very unlikely to be in possession of one)

One of the images going viral on Facebook about this topic

Why did the world hail Jobs while many never remembered Ritchie beyond their school days (though we all still remember/use C or its direct descendent programming languages)? Ok, a quick quiz. Who was Dr.Martin Cooper? Who is Steven Sasson? What did Mathew Gray do in 1993 for the first time that changed internet forever? Any answer? Now match mobile phones, digital camera and search engines to the questions respectively. Do you see that we do not know who created some of the things that we have actually begun using as a part of us?

Remember the mega launches that Jobs held for all i-products? The gung ho over what could be the new Apple product, his routine jokes (‘there is one more thing...’), stage presence, drama over his role in Apple corporation etc. Remember the media appearances and books by Bill Gates at the peak of his success? Remember frequently seeing the face of Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia? The publicity stunts by Richard Branson? We do, of course we do! That could precisely be a major reason. 

If you are an exceptionally brilliant inventor your product will become famous. But if there is a story, a drama, a brand you build around yourself and most importantly continue to create news (good or bad, sometimes futile controversies) until your end, people will invariably remember you and your contributions. Because the more infrequent your face or name becomes the sooner you shall be forgotten! Not that we people are a thankless lot, but things evolve so fast that even five years mean a lot more than what they used to be. Five years back from today facebook was perhaps just a new idea, twitter was just about launched and there were no iPhones!

In such relative speed of time and technology changes, it should not be very surprising why Ritchie’s achievements and his adieu to the wonderful word he helped in shaping was lost in the smoke cloud created by the departure of this person who brought digital multimedia so close to the common man (which again was based on Ritchie’s codes to begin with)! 

After all, it’s your show alone that remains in people’s minds and hence only a showman for life shall get a tearful goodbye and boundless gratitude from people for all that he did for them in his life! This perhaps is what the management guys call 'Personal Branding'.

Ambani & Sons by Hamish McDonald

There is an old saying that goes, 'You cannot be fooled unless you allow yourself to be'. The wisdom in this saying is a corollary to Darwin's famous postulate of 'Survival of the fittest'. However, it is also precisely the same wisdom that justifies every action of Dhirubhai Ambani. For anyone who has read Hamish McDonald's Polyester Prince, this book has limited surprises.

The book can be divided into four distinct parts.

The first part deals with the journey of an ambitious young man determined to make it big on a large stage. It talks loud about the young Dhirubhai who impressed everyone around him with his brilliance, and that helped him seek better life opportunities in the port of Aden off Yemen coast in A. Besse & Co. company. As someone who had realised early in life that one should never depend on someone for very long, Dhirubhai was always on the lookout for new opportunities.

The finest example of his genius in discovering untapped opportunities is the fact that as a junior clerk in Aden he found that the silver content in the Rial (Yemen's currency) coin is more than its exchange value in pounds. However the main reasons for his successful entrepreneurial ventures throughout his life lies in his persistence and ability to execute these ideas converting them into money. Dhirubhai made a few lakhs of rupees by collecting these Rials, melting them and selling the silver ingots at their market price, something that not all junior clerks would dare to do!

The second part of the book deals with Dhirubhai's resolve to set up his company, and his maverick ideas in running the business. A friend notes that Dhirubhai does not go against the law. He makes sure that the law is modified to permit something so that his activity does not classify to be going against the law! Also, a friend recalls hs is words 'Everything that I have done is kept under the ground and a first class fountain has been built over it. No one will find out what I have done'. This is truly aligned to Dhirubhai's ideal that ends justify the means. His active involvement of shareholders in the process of building his vast business empire and unique ability to have right friends in the right places especially in the changing governments deserve special mention in this part of the book, and truly serve as a compulsory lesson for aspirant entrepreneurs and managers.

The third part of this book, although very much mixed with the second part, is my favourite. It is the one that deals with the past of many of the people who are today holders of iconic positions in our country. This is the part that tells us how Reliance and its growth under Dhirubhai is an inseparable element in understanding the present India and its growth in the last three decades. It brings out the past of several of today's national leaders like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Murli Deora, Arun Jaitley, Sharad Pawar, Arun Shourie, Ram Jethmalani and some yester-year leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P.Singh, Narasimha Rao and Pramod Mahajan, and their active involvement in the successes and failure of Dhirubhai's business empire. Also important is the role of media baron Ramnath Goenka, his investigative journalist Gurumurthy, Nusli Wadia, Amitabh Bachchan and recently scamster Harshad Mehta. The most notable thing here is the matrix that relates these 'leaders' to the corporate house of Reliance and the mastermind named Dhirubhai Ambani.

The last part of the book, which has potential drama to be dubbed into a Bollywood flick is the one that deals with the last days of Dhirubhai and the feud between his sons Mukesh and Anil after his death. The book clearly indicates Mukesh to be the true Dhirubhai successor, while branding Anil as someone who used emotions to gain his base and has a lot to learn about conducting business successfuly beyond ambitious hopes and false promises.

All in all, the book 'Ambani & Sons' by Hamish McDonald is a definite must-read for anyone who aspires to conduct business in India as it tells the tale of how a young man with no business background managed to build one of the world's biggest corporate houses in a land stricken with neo-socialist policies that undervalues the role of equity and is easily maneuverable by money and power. It also follows the growth of Indian economy amidst license raj, import-export controls and regulations leading to liberalisation in early 1990s. It also talks about the origin and growth of the equity cult and popularity of public stock offerings that is directly attributed to Dhirubhai Ambani. Also it tells us the story of India as a developing nation through the 1980s and 1990s- the dark and bright patches in it, and most importantly about two of the world's richest people today!

Cheers!
Shyam



TO BUY THE BOOK-42bookz
TO BUY THE BOOK- Flipkart

Thalaivar Rajni and the HR Dept

Disclaimer: This is not about Rajini nor is it a review of Enthiran/Robot. But it is a must read for everyone who enjoys a good Rajini movie. Read till the end, and ignore the management aspect if you are not interested in it, but the thought will still make sense to you!

Motivation of the employees is an important role played by Human Resource Management and Business Psychology units, and from my experience one of the best tools for motivation are Rajinikanth movies! How? Read on...

Before I go ahead trying to explain this, it is important to clarify why is it just Rajinikanth's movies. If not from others, I expect this question to be popped up by avid Kamalahasan fans at least! Well, to answer this, almost all of the standard Rajini movies are based on the same plot. The movies are all about Rajini (as in the central character) and rarely would you find too many concepts and intricacies ingrained in the storyline. (Robot/Enthiran does not qualify to be a standard Rajini movie. Padayappa, Sivaji, Annamalai, Arunachalam, Muthu, Basha etc. do)

Now lets come to the topic. Imagine a state when you are depressed beyond reason. You don't know why, but you know for sure that you are sad. (I am very sure this situation happens with most of us- Churchill called it black dog, we might just stick to 'bad mood' ) What is most required at this time? Motivation and inspiration, a feel-good reason and the ability to think beyond whatever is the cause for your gloom.

These are precisely the role of the HR team (or the work culture improvement team, as they are known in some firms) when the company is passing through a rough patch, for example the recent subprime crisis and the economic downfall that followed it with job cuts and pay cuts. Generally the HR team go about solving this problem through team building exercises or an offsite visit to curb down the stress on the employees and relax a bit, or may be go for a football game or watch a movie together to chill out!

Yes, the movie. Rajini movies are a genre of films and do not necessarily contain only Rajinikanth's movies. And watching a Rajini movie is not just a corporate solution, also a personal motivation tool. How?

First thing, all Rajini movies are about 'the Rajini', all other characters are facilitators for Rajini to be Rajini. (Wow! Thats four straight Rajinis in a single sentence!) Yeah, and the second thing is that the common plot for all the Rajini movies (and most of the Amitabh starrers during one period of time) would read- Rajini goes into a bad state (poverty, cheated, mental discomfort etc. as the case may be) either at the beginning or as a consequence of something that happens in the movie, and rises up to be successful overpowering all his enemies (physical or spiritual)

Now, this is as much as saying that the plot of almost all Indian movies is that the hero falls in love with the heroine and after lot of struggle, the feeling turns mutual and they live happily ever after! Not really! Rajini has certain elements that make this standard plot inspiring.

1. His acting-
Undoubtedly the most important feature. Rajini looks and make the character look one among us. The way he portrays the characters makes us feel in unison with his character. And the looks, he is not the most handsome actor in the industry. On the contrary, like malayalam actor Sreenivasan says in one of his movies- 'This guy is darker than me, must be shorter than me too..yet he is a superstar!' That is the thing. His not being 'the fair six footer six pack hero 'makes him closer to people's heart and this in addition to his natural portrayal of the role is the only justification for the frenzy fan following he has. His fans, almost all of them, do not assess him. We do not assess God, do we?

2. The style-
Now that we have faith in his role and consider the character one among us, let us move on to the next best thing. The style! The way he wears his glasses, or how he lights a cigarette, or how he pulls down the swing with his shawl- Superb! 'Wow! Wouldn't it be amazing if I could do it too!'- this is the natural amazement that anyone would have! Now this lifts your spirit. Gives you that motivation. The ability to see yourself in his place now defines your mood.

3. The mass appeal-
Rajini never fights alone (I know this contradicts his 'Singam single-a thaan varum' punchline, but what I mean here is the large number of well-wishers the character accumulates over the course of the movie) He always has the backing of friends and well-wishers, the common people from the streets! This makes him a hero- a public hero to be preicse! Now who does not want to be a hero, and make his/her family and friends gleam with pride? And since you are already seeing yourself in his character, you are now going to be a hero too! Would there be any better way to put your problems behind you and feel inspired? 'Now its not 'your' fight Thalaivaa, its OUR FIGHT!'

4. The cause-
You are now fighting a crusade (with Rajini of course). It is important for you, the public hero, to feel motivated to achieve the goal. The goal- it plays a role too. Have you noticed that Rajini movies are all about fighting a public cause. Be it poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, corruption, goondaism, terrorism, black money etc. , these are all issues that we see in day-to-day life and firmly in tune to our conviction (reiterated by the daily chaos in our lives) that life without these social issues, would be much more comfortable and happier. So naturally, when you are fighting the sad state of your life with the right motivation, you feel better. You feel the transformation within you and you are energised to think beyond your present state of mind into a bright future in the better world that you are building for yourself. (notice the 'you' s in the sentence, the feeling of self-importance is the stepping stone to motivation)

5. The victory
The epitome of achievement! 'Vetri kodi and the sikaram! ' The feeling of un-explainable joy and satisfaction of having made a difference. Its a feeling nothing less than bliss! And the stylish way in which Rajini achieves it with all the punch-dialogues and stunts (yeah, they deserve a special mention. The stunts too have an important contribution in making you feel happy with the way things are going). And at the end of the movie, you are there in the winners camp with your own battalion around you in the theatre and what a feeling is that! There would hardly be anyone who would still be sulking after the whole 'Rajini treatment'. The biggest thing that you must not miss in this is that your brain was relaxing all this while, and your heart was driving you, your desires, your ambitions and your thoughts!

The impact of Rajini movies on your mind are something similar to a psychotic hypnotherapy. Have you observed how the person takes you to a world, special to yourself, designed with the most aesthetic creations by YOU! This makes you feel very comfortable and then you dispense your negative thoughts (problems) into the unknown ocean that you created. Some practitioners use the concept of driving up your negative thoughts to a point and feel them being absorbed by the white light.

In all these cases, what you do is create your happy territory, convince yourself that you exist there, and that all your problems are solved. And most importantly gain courage and motivation out of it to fight your physical or spiritual problems in anticipation of being able to reach your personal utopia at the end of this struggle!

In Rajini movies, things are no different. He always ends up building the society you ever wished for. And the placebo effect of the product is mysteriously high, and undoubtedly makes you feel a lot better and more confident to live life the king size! And that is why, the whole experience of a Rajini movie is not just entertaining but also rejuvenating, motivating, inspiring and literally hypnotising!