Business Leaders Should Walk The Talk

Today's Corporate Dossier carries a story on how the young bunch of managers at Airasia - the latest low-cost airline about to be launched in India - are actually  living the philosophy of 'low-cost'. 29 year-old Gangtok-born Ningku Lachungpa is in charge of the ancillaries.As part of shoring up ancillary revenues, she is doing her bit to understand every discipline to live up the tagline of making more people fly. As part of this effort, Lachungpa takes the suburban train every morning from near the airport, where she lives, to her spartan 600 sq.ft. office, situated atop a mall."When I come to the office in a taxi, I don't put down that down in the office expense as each of us are aware that even a Rs. 10 saving is a saving."

Similarly, when Aditya Ghosh, CEO of leading low-cost airline Indigo and his boss Rahul Bhatia, MD, had to go for a meeting of the private airlines' captains with the Prime Minister, they travelled in a small, unassuming hatchback. 

Indigo Airlines CEO Aditya Ghosh (L) and MD Rahul Bhatia (R)

The rest came in their fancy limos.

Living the management philosophy

In the Puranas, as mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, explains, Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu, is the land of happiness. It is a playground or ranga-bhoomi and is described as a place which attracts Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Vishnu always attracts wealth and is popularly worshiped as Shri-nath or Tiru-pati which means lord of affluence and abundance. On the other hand, Indra the king of the devas, who resides in his paradise, Swarga, is constantly chasing Laxmi, and trying to prevent the asuras from taking her away.The fundamental difference between Vishnu and Indra is that Indra thinks only of himself and his shareholders. They all feel entitled, like shareholders. On the other hand, Vishnu thinks of everyone - his employees, customers, shareholders, vendors, society at large, in other words - stakeholders. Thus ensuring affluence and abundance.

At times, business leaders and senior executives forget that the people they lead are closely watching their every move and action.  When leaders start living out the key brand proposition and what their company stands for, with actions such as the ones cited above, it can go a long way in inculcating an ideal organizational culture. A culture which results  in more sales, more growth and more profits, making every stakeholder - employees, customers, shareholders, vendors, society at large happy!

So, would you like Vishnu, attract wealth, or like Indra, chase it? The choice is yours.

Life is About The Choices We Make

Mohan was a charming fellow, every time I ran into him on the street, he would flash his good-natured smile and wave at me. Then one day, he happily told me that he had started a catering business, and pressed his newly printed visiting card into my hand. i told him I certainly would recommend his services to people and keep him in mind when the occasion arose. And I did hire his catering services for a few family functions. At these times, i noticed, it was his wife who was running the show. A grim-faced woman, who unlike Mohan, never smiled, she would be busily looking after the details of the service, keeping a close watch on every aspect of the service. Mohan was employed in a pharma company, but when his catering business started flourishing, he quit his job, and he became the smiling front for his catering service, winning over people with his charm and good nature. Soon, I lost touch with Mohan, and my running into him became less and less frequent, and soon, he just slipped from my mind. Then one day, after years, I ran into him again. He wasn't his usual decently dressed self - his clothes seemed slightly disheveled, and so was his hair. Moreover, he passed me on the street without looking at me! I was surprised, this wasn't the Mohan, I knew, but I just dismissed at it being one of his bad hair days. This happened on a couple of more occasions - his appearance was disheveled and he did not acknowledge my greeting. Finally, one day when i met him again, i stopped him and asked him whether he had forgotten who i was and why he was behaving in this strange manner. He was silent for a while and then in a sad voice he told me, "My wife is no more." He did not say anything more, and neither did I pursue the matter further. I later learnt from people that he had given up his catering business and had devoted himself to looking after the house and his only son.

Dealing with life situations and events

Tragedies are a part of our life - we lose people and things we hold dear, jobs are lost and relationships broken, which are actually a test of our Response-ability - the ability to cope with life's situations and events in the most appropriate manner.While we may not be responsible for most of what happens, we are completely responsible for our reaction to what is happening. Rather than placing blame, this way of thinking acknowledges personal power. Response-ability is the capacity to choose. Out of many possible responses, I can always choose the one I make. Response-ability is remembering to be in charge and make careful, thought-out choices.When we respond with the best of our ability, and accept and handle whatever consequences we have helped to create, we not only benefit from your choices, but our life and relationships will improve immensely.