What goes into the making of a successful business? What attributes should business leaders possess to lead their businesses to success? An analysis...
Mukesh Ambani is in the news for becoming the richest man in Asia, while his younger brother is in the news, because his flagship company, ‘Reliance Communications’ has filed a bankruptcy application. The sword of arrest is hanging on him if he fails to pay Rs.450 crores to Ericsson within four weeks as ordered by the Supreme Court. The sharp contrast between the two brothers cannot be missed. The two brothers had similar training from their illustrious father, Late Dhirubhai Ambani. Anil Ambani, who is two years younger than Mukesh holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Mumbai and an MBA degree from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, while Mukesh holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Mumbai and for some time also studied MBA at Stanford, which he dropped later to join his father’s business.
Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and initiated Reliance’s backward integration from textiles into polyester fibre and further into petrochemicals. In this process, he was seen creating many world-class manufacturing facilities that raised the capacity of Reliance from less than a million tonnes to 12 million tonnes per year. He also led the creation of a huge petroleum refinery at Jamnagar. And now, the biggest start-up Jio has been created in the telecommunications field which is giving fatal blows to competitors in this sector.
Anil Ambani joined Reliance in 1983 and has been credited for pioneering many financial innovations in the Indian capital market. For example, he led India’s first foray into the overseas capital markets with international public offerings of global depository receipts. He has been regarded as a financial wizard. After the split in the family, Anil diversified into defence and real estate sectors. Despite the huge gap between the wealth of the two brothers, Anil Ambani continues to be a notable billionaire of the country, though the recent happenings are disturbing.
The issue that begs analysis is what makes a person more successful than the other, when both come from the same background with similar opportunities. What did Mukesh Ambani do to become more successful than his younger brother? But setting aside the differences between the successes of the two brothers, I will attempt to underline some obvious qualities which successful persons in the business world are seen to possess.
One of the biggest attributes is passion. The passion should not be for making money in quick time but to give birth to a business venture or an organization and then nurturing it with full devotion. Money earning should be seen only as a by-product of the venture, something like plucking fruits after passionate planting and nurturing to have a fully grown tree. Maybe the person who planted the tree does not even see the fruit in his lifetime, but his satisfaction level is not less if he is passionate about growing the tree which can give fruit to the next generation. In this connection, I am reminded of Warren Buffet’s statement, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
"A good idea, pregnant with big possible outcomes, is the seed for future success. It will be much better if the idea is based on innovation and research. The timing of the idea is also very important. It should have the fragrance of newness and freshness"
Hard work and patience are the two other inputs for success in business ventures. Hard work is always a necessary ingredient in any success recipe but it is more vital in an entre preneurial project. From the blueprint to the factory, there are many stages and at each stage, a lot of things have to be done and the same requires hard work by the promoter and his team. There is always a possibility of failure at each step when you are in the process of giving birth to a business empire, but failure should never be the deterrent. On the contrary, failures should be seen as challenges for opening the windows of new opportunities.
The quality of patience will help when too many failures are faced. A person who is patient will reach the goal despite obstacles on the way, when an impatient person may abandon his journey after meeting failures. As Colin Powell said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failures.” For making a successful business, Jack Ma says, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow is worse but the day after tomorrow, there will be sunshine.”
Disciplined dedication is another virtue of success. This virtue comes out of a cool and focused mind. A business venture should be supported by a disciplined work force and it should be taken to the logical conclusion. The promoter should not indulge in too many ventures simultaneously for the greed of making money from many quarters. If one sails in too many boats at a time, it is destined to sink. Many big business people have failed due to lack of discipline and pushing too many things at one time. Discipline should be the core of work ethics as is the case in the army. We all know that disciplined soldiers win the battles even in the gravest of situations.
A big tree today is the outcome of a tiny seed, sowed in the past. Similarly, a big business empire is the product of a small idea which was implemented. It is not just about an idea, but it is about making it happen. A good idea, pregnant with big possible outcomes, is the seed for future success. It will be much better if the idea is based on innovation and research. The timing of the idea is also very important. It should have the fragrance of newness and freshness. In the context of timing, Mark Twain has said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” The developed countries today are developed as they harvested new ideas from research and innovation and implemented them before others.
Steve Jobs had said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people.” The view expressed by the person behind the success-story of ‘Apple’, is very important. The battle is won by the proficient army and not just by one intelligent commander. The promoter of the business must have the necessary quality of team building and he should also have an eye for talent-scouting. Once the team is built, he should lead the team from the front and show his leadership qualities. The team built should be motivated and should share the passion of the promoter and it should go for the kill. Interpersonal relationships and good communication with modest Behavior and pleasant personality should be the other attributes of the team for achieving the goal.
It has been said by some wise man that if people like you, they will listen to you but if they trust you, they will do business with you. The co-founder of Google, Larry Page said, “Always deliver more than expected.” A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all. The satisfaction of customers and their trust is built on the edifice of quality of products and services. Sales go up and down but a service stays forever. A promoter of business who dreams big, must keep in mind that the quality of his product is the best business plan. One has to read the mind of the customer and accordingly launch the products and services. Sale multiplies due to the faith of the customer in the brand of the products and the business grows.
One other very important quality which successful businessmen have, is their risk taking ability. It is difficult to succeed for a person who loves to remain in the cocoon of security and assured steady income. The statement by Peter F Drucker is more than true when he said, “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” A business is launched based on a certain idea, which is supported by past experiences and the current year’s data, but nobody can foresee the success of that idea. This is the risk while launching a business venture and the same may be duly weighed, considering its pros and cons. However, a person who is too scared of the future will remain a nonstarter.
The last and not least, ambition is the greatest quality for ultimate success. One has to see dreams before he begins and then works hard to achieve them. Each small step to achieve dreams is a giant step and accordingly the person should remain motivated. It has always been seen that normally a big business starts small. Bill Gates started from a garage to create Microsoft. Once a petrol pump attendant in Yemen, late Dhirubhai Ambani went on to create Reliance. Many of us see dreams to become rich but only a few ultimately taste success. The dividing line is that while some people dream of success, others get up every morning and make it happen.
While being in the process of making big in business, one has to always keep in mind that the means justify the end and not the other way round. Money has to be earned out of hard work and not made by any unscrupulous method. A big company and the people behind it have to be good corporate citizens, being responsible towards the society and the country. “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business,” said Henry Ford.
by S K Jha
