Seldom does a smile go waste. If you smile with your heart, you are bound to get a smile. There is a famous saying- ‘He did not have a smile on his face, so I gave him one’. A genuine smile is not given with lips and teeth or by saying cheese. Your entire face and body should smile. Remember the group photo when all of you went on that picnic and it was so much fun? Take a look at that picture again, all of you are not just smiling with your lips, but your entire bodies reflect how much fun you were having!
If you are happy about seeing someone, inform your face and body about it. Like the Americans say- ‘Let it rip’. If my doctor greeted me with a warm smile, half of my agony will be gone in an instant. Salespeople attribute their success to how often they smile during work. My mentor once told me that if I went to an important interview and if I could make the panel smile back to me, I would most likely get the job.
He was not an MBA. Nor an economist. But yet he took traditional market theory and stood it on its head. And succeeded. Yes, at a time when everyone in India would build capacities only after a careful study of market expectations, he went full steam ahead and created giants of manufacturing plants with unbelievable capacites. (Initial cap of Reliance Patalganga was 10,000 tonnes of PFY way back in 1980, while the market in India for it was approx. 6000 tonnes). No doubt his instinct was backed by years and years of reading, studying market trends, careful listening and his own honed capacity to forecast, but yet despite all this preparation, it required undeniable guts to pioneer such a revolutionary move. The consequence was that the market blossomed to absorb supply, the consumer benefited with prices crashing down, the players increased and our economic landscape changed for the better. The Patalganga plant was in no time humming at maximum capacity and as a result of the plant’s economies of scale, Dhirubhai’s conversion cost of the yarn in 1994 came down to 18 cents per pound, as compared to Western Europe’s 34 cents, North America’s 29 cents and the Far East’s 23 cents and Reliance was exporting the yarn back to the US! A more recent example was that of Mukesh Ambani taking this vision forward with Reliance Infocomm (which is now handled by Anil Ambani). In India’s mobile telephony timeline there will always be a very clear ‘before Infocomm and after Infocomm’ segmentation. The numbers say it all. In Jan 2003, the mobile subscriber base was 13 million, about 16 months later, shortly after the launch, it had reached 30 million. In March 2006, it has touched 90 million ! Yes, this was yet another unusual skill of Dhirubhai’s — his uncanny knack of knowing exactly how the market is going to behave.
This was a belief by which Dhirubhai lived all his life. For instance when he briefed me about setting up Mudra, his instruction was clear: ‘Produce the best textile advertising in the country,’ he said. He did not breathe a word about profits, nor about becoming the richest ad agency in the country. Great advertising was the goal that he set for me. A by-product is something that you don’t set out to produce. It is the spin off when you create something larger. When you turn logs into lumber, sawdust is your by-product and a pretty lucrative one it can be too! It is a very simple analogy but extremely effective in driving the point home. Work toward a goal beyond your bank balance. Success in attaining that goal will eventually ring in the cash. For instance, if you work towards creating a name for yourself and earning a good reputation, then money is a logical outcome. People will pay for your product or service if it is good. But if you get your priorities slightly mixed up, not only will the money you make remain just a quick buck it would in all likelihood blacklist you for good. Sounds too simplistic for belief? Well, look around you and you will know exactly how true it is.
The formulation of a sound strategy facilitates a number of actions and desired results that would be difficult otherwise. A strategic plan, when communicated to all members of an organization, provides employees with a clear vision of what the purposes and objectives of the firm are.
That is what Indian team precisely did. As batting has always been the core strength on Indian cricket team, the new strategy of team was to improve bowling and fielding department. Result of which is reflected in the performance of Indian team. World class fielders like Yuvraj and Raina are in Indian side. All rounder of year ‘Irfan pathan’ is the strike bowler of Indian team.
Whining and complaining about the system or co-workers or circumstances will rob you of your energy. A good salesman will never criticise the competitor or the circumstances. He knows that his credibility will suffer if he talks negative about others. He is fully excited about his product and he fully believes that his product is the best. As a doctor your attitude has to be positive. Say positive things, praise people where necessary and avoid condemning other doctors or the system.
I have said this many times in the past. Playing to win is not the same as cutting corners. When you play to win, you stretch yourself to your maximum and use all your potential. It also helps you to concentrate your energy on what you can influence instead of getting bogged down with the worry of what you cannot change. Do your best and leave the rest.
I generally equate getting results with taking action, so to actually stop (in those other 20 hours of the day) was a bit tougher than I thought.
Yet what I discovered when I stopped all my busy-ness was the big picture clarity missing from what I was doing. In that space, my own new ways or new perspectives on work issues I was facing came to the surface. I had a much better understanding of all the facets of the situation and planning became effortless. “Emptying the cup” created the paradox of being incredibly energized and productive. And gradually I became more comfortable with saying no, and making sure I had my new “incubation space”.
As a doctor you are dealing with human beings. I am sometimes appalled to see doctors treating patients as objects rather than human beings. Where is the human touch that is so sacred to the noble profession? Successful insurance agents know the entire family of the client as if they were a part of the same family. Similarly, a good physician is the one who knows his patient as a person. He knows what he does in life. He knows what his son is doing these days. He may even know the name of his dog.
Yes, his skill as a doctor is important. A competent doctor is the one who will diagnose and treat a disease with accuracy and at the same time will have a great personal bond with each of his patients. If your previous patients do not enter your chamber with a smile on their faces and if they do not establish an instant eye contact with a warm smile, I think it is time for introspection for you as a doctor!
One last thing which Indian team implemented is that players are awarded with responsibility. They are encouraged to think for team and themselves both and take charge of their own destiny. Sehwag, Yuvraj don’t only have to bat only but they have to demonstrate their innate bowling skills also.
Overall, Men in Blue have a lot to teach conventional business. If the powers that can deliver a consistent leadership structure, and if the team on the field can deliver a good combination of performance, ethics and honest communication, they will grow their support base in years to come – win or lose.
The world will reward you on your successes. Success requires no explanation and failure permits none. But you need to respect yourself enough so that your self-confidence remains intact whether you succeed or fail. If you succeed 90 percent of the time, you are doing fine. If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks. If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities. Think through but take the plunge. If some things do go wrong, learn from them. I came across this interesting story some time ago: One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and begin to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and totted off! Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to not to get bogged down by it. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping. And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
