photo by Andres Rueda

Many of you may have heard the quote, “Never ASSUME, for it makes an ASS of U and ME.”   Assumptions do play a key role in determining the success (or failure) of investments and business decisions.  It is however very important to base all assumptions and subsequent decision making on proper research and sound reasoning.  This is my last blog post for this year and I couldn’t resist sharing two charming stories that I read recently about the risks in making faulty assumptions and hasty decisions.  I hope you enjoy the stories as much as I did!  

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A turkey was chatting with a bull, “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.”

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.  The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.  Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there!

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A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.  A rabbit asked him,  “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?”

The crow answered: “Sure, why not.”

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.  A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.  

 Or as Swami Nithyananda eloquently puts it, “Our aim should be to achieve the state of consciousness of a leader and not merely covet the status that is achieved by becoming a leader.”

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Happy Holidays and see you all again in the New Year!

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rachdian

CNBC recently hosted a town hall meeting with Warren Buffet and Bill Gates at the Columbia Business School.  During the meeting, Warren Buffett was quizzed by a student on what data allowed him to make razor sharp and fast paced investment decisions.  Buffett’s answer was simple and to the point – There are no short-cuts, it takes a life time of hard work, preparation, and continuous learning!  

Buffett was equally eloquent in response to another question on what would be the next successful industry to work in.  His answer was to not just seek work but to rather pursue work that one feels passionate about, irrespective of the industry.  He pointed out that Bill and he were successful because each of them pursued their passion and backed it with continuous learning and hard work.  He also highlighted the important role of mentors who encouraged and backed them in various stages of their career.  

Listening to these two titans of capitalism speak reminded me of my own early days and how I was equally fortunate to have a great mentor who encouraged me at every step along the way. 

In 1993, I was fresh out of college and unsure of what the future held for me.  Although I had graduated top of the class in engineering and secured a job with a top ranking IT firm in India, I soon realized that I had no real interest in a technical career.  A chance encounter led me to meet Mr. Babu, Managing Director of a business group based in India.  I can never fully recollect what prompted me to say yes to the opportunity to work under him, but it was just one of those magical moments that I was fortunate to seize upon – and it took me through one of the most fascinating lessons in entrepreneurship, management, and leadership that anyone could hope for.  

Babu’s astute market knowledge and perennial appetite to learn and stay on top of each and every aspect of his business was one of the earliest lessons in entrepreneurship that I received.  He also took a keen interest in teaching me the how’s and why’s of running a complex global business operation.  Above all, I learnt valuable life lessons watching his unflinching integrity, sound business ethics, and a genuine interest in the welfare of all who worked with him.

Success often masks the hard work and efforts that go into the creation of an enterprise.  I was fortunate to learn early on that there is no real substitute for hard work and it is up to a business leader to be prepared to face whatever challenge life throws at us and seize the magical moments when crucial opportunities reveal itself.  As the Roman Philosopher Seneca rightly said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

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alicepopkorn

An entrepreneur’s driving force is often a firm belief that Nothing is Impossible.  Time and again, I have realized that the will to persevere in the face of adversity is all that stood between my success and failure.

Not every venture that I entered into turned out as I originally envisioned.  There have been failures and often much frustration along the way.  Yet I would never trade any of those for something else for the journey was always worth the effort.  Above all, it taught me the valuable life lesson that, whatever happens to us isn’t nearly as important as how we respond to it.

I have a portrait of Abraham Lincoln in my office with a successory written about him which reads,

“He failed in business in ‘31.  He was defeated for state legislator in ‘32.

He tried another business in ‘33. It failed.

His fiancée died in ‘35.  He had a nervous breakdown in ‘36.

In ‘43 he ran for congress and was defeated.  He tried again in ‘48 and was defeated again.

He tried running for the Senate in ‘55. He lost.

The next year he ran for Vice President and lost.

In ‘59 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated.

In 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln, the man whose unflagging faith in himself seemed to grow with every failure, was elected the 16th President of the United States.“

 As I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday, I can’t help but chime in with another of Richard Branson’s powerful quotes, “The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.”

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