1) “Read everything carefully, and then read some more. If one is reading and summarising a particular document, one should also know the background details for reference, not just surface data. If he has a question, you don’t return with just that answer; you come prepared for 10 questions about it.”
This excerpt from the book reminded me of my days at ABP; I was fortunate to have 3 different bosses who did EXACTLY that. If I ever gave an answer without knowing the answer to the follow-up questions, I instinctively knew I was in for trouble. However, this habit also got me to analyse and be thorough with every aspect of what I did. This prepares you for any challenge that comes your way in the future.
2) “There will be times when we can get through stuff, and there will be times when we can’t. And when we can’t, don’t feel so caught up in getting it done no matter what. It’s okay“
One of my biggest lessons personally in the last few years is that surrendering does so much good it is unbelievable. To hear HIM say this left me floored and a lot LESS GUILTY for the times I gave up when I couldn’t get through something.
3) “I made short runs every time a plate needed to be filled or if a walking stick fell far from someone’s chair or if the cutlery was missing. It was basic manners, but the gratitude on their faces when you did something so simple was a selfish reward.”
Basic manners and gratitude are slowly becoming a rarity today. We are so engrossed in ourselves, our perfect selfies and everything else that prevents us from looking around us and lending a helping hand.
As I write this, I am made aware of a friend who, in the recent cloudburst that Kolkata faced, was not woken up by anyone else in his building to move and protect his cars from damage whilst they ALL did so. Exactly the point I was making. Somewhere, somehow, we have stopped looking out for and at others and lack basic manners today.
4) “Why would you call her now? It’s so late! You are never supposed to call and disturb anyone after 9:30 pm for work. You should not have done that.”
When was the last time you heard a boss or a manager say this? I remember my days in a particular company back in 2006; we would walk into the office at 9 am and walk out at 2 am every single day. On Saturdays I would exit at 10 pm, hoping to catch a movie on a Saturday night and relinquish what was left of my weekend. If I left at 7:30 pm, I could hear my senior mumble about me not having any work.
I left the company ONLY because I wanted balance, and when I built QED, that was the one thing I constantly imbibed in the culture.
I was once told by someone, ‘If YOU do not respect your boundaries, then do not expect another to do so.’ Meaning that if you take that call post work hours or on a Sunday, then you’re allowing for them to take you for granted at all hours. So respect begins with yourself.
5)” When I went to Cornell, the Nano was a case study. In fact, it is a case study in most business schools. A case of marketing failure.”
‘Failure’ can also be a case study and many times a better learning experience than a successful campaign. I have always learnt from my failures and hence have never really wished for something to be undone in the past.
6) “When something good is born in the country, the first reaction is to strip it, humiliate it, spot flaws, create a narrative, and give the favourite static reason why it wouldn’t work.”
As I type this, a lady has posted a negative video about being asked to sit in a particular manner within a Taj property, and it’s being shared by all.
In our country especially, negative news is treated with a kind of zeal that I have never understood. Television and the kind of content that we have made and made successful reek of negativity and abuse of power. Whether it is the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship or the husband/wife one, like leeches, we have hung on to every episode that oozes with negativity, and thereby our mind only seems to be stimulated and satisfied once it receives negativity.
7) “One of the lessons that I’ve learnt at the salon with him is that appreciation should permeate all levels of a workforce. When he is done with the haircut, he won’t just tip the hairdresser; he will tip the person who shampooed his hair, the person who got him coffee, and the person who swept the hair off the floor. That’s how he teaches you, in the best possible way, by example.”
A class act for every leader to follow suit. There are those that preach, and then there are those that act. Mr Tata was clearly one who let his actions speak for himself.
8) “Lighthouses get shrouded too. Sometimes there’s fog, sometimes mist, sometimes a storm. But the beacon is always lit; it’s always there.”
As an agency owner, I’ve seen the good days and the bad days, the days where you feel and understand the purpose behind why you are where you are and the days where you doubt why you’re there. BUT on all kinds of days, what it does not extinguish is that fire in your belly which keeps the beacon always lit.
