Yippie!
I am back after a long break. Believe me, the past few months in my life had been more eventful than the stock markets !! had you been long the volatility index of my life- you would have made a fortune. Finally, I have switched my job and 'm back in Bombay. It seems I am reliving the old times- Hawaiian shacks, Bandra, late night outings, marine drive, money, ambition, packed-weekends AND SO MANY FRIENDS.
This blog is going to be a short one (unlike the previous ones) bcos it's 1 in the night and I have a an employer waiting for me every morning. Morover, I have been so out of touch with writing that I think I'll end up with a mess if i even try something elaborate. I have read some books on Dhirubhai Ambani of late - Poyester prince, Ambani vs Ambani, Dhirubhaism are some of them. Reading about him is always so much fun - a street-fighter ready to make a mark in this world, there are n't any good movies anyways (except 99 and Angels vs. Demons). Good or bad, I can't be judgemental about the man but there are principles which Dhirubhai believed in and all of them combined together shaped up the thought process of the man who was loved or hated in extremes but could never afford to be ignored.
1. "No one is a permanent friend and no one is a permanent enemy, the roles keep changing as you progress from one orbit to another". Be it politicians, businessmen, mediapersons- the protagonist of our story had more than his fair share of enemies (and enemies-turned-friends and friends-turned-enemies), but the roles of friends and enemies kept interchanging. There was a time when Arun Shourie was one of the biggest critics of the Ambanis, but the times- they always keep changing!
2. "You need to throw something for the crows before you eat the bigger pie"- no wonder Dhirubhai had everyone from bureaucrats to mediapersons in the list of "crows". He was very generous with rewards to anyone who was useful or could be potentially useful :)
3. Dhirubhai used to say - "There is only one thing I think I don't posess and that is EGO!" He was someone who wasn't shy of doing menial tasks if they solved his purpose. It once happened that retailers refused to buy cloth manufactured by him. He packed sample pieces in the boot of his car and kept trying from shop to shop convincing small owners that they'll make good money if they buy his cloth.
4. He was a man in hurry - Think fast, think big and think ahead was his motto. He once came up with an idea to get artificial rainfall in the Thar desert to make the land useful!! No idea what happened to the project but ideas are ,for sure, no one's monopoly. And the scale and pace of his ambition could be judged from the sheer scale of his grand projects. Even now, if a new Reliance project is planned, it is almost taken for granted that it will go online sooner than expected.
5. The most lethal combination is a shrewd mind, humble nature and unmatched courage. Dhirubhai was a master politician, ruthless yet down to earth. Had he not been a businessman, he would definitely have been a succesful politician. And the courage - some people are god-gifted!!. I am not sure about the credibility of the story, but it is said that during his stint in Aden, he used to swim across a particular stretch of sea which was full of sharks, just to win a small bet placed with friends!!
6. An ace manipulator but a hard-working person- he believed in the "there is no substitute to hard work" philosophy. The manner in which he presented facts was commendable, even if the statistics were right, the manner of presentation was enough to change the meaning. And the legacy continues... (recently, after RIL pumped the first bottle of crude from Bay of Bengal, Mukesh Ambani's first public statement had nothing to do with RIL's profit estimates, rather he said this discovery is going to make India self-reliant!!)
7. The Great Gambler- it is said that he made it big initially by speculating! Be it the price of spices and metals in Aden or trading textiles in Paidhoni, the man had a flair for gambling (not literally). He once even went broke but was saved by a lifeline extended by some of his good friends otherwise india's corporate history would have been so less exciting!!
There are so many other stories about the man who became a legend, every thing he did had a midas touch, but it's time to say good night now bcos I have no intentions to start a business anytime soon and in a still-recovering market (or that is what it seems to be), I want to keep myself away from the raised-eyebrows of my employer. I wanted to write something more productive but may be you guys have to wait for the next article!!
Tanuj
