This article is the result of an email forwarded by a friend of mine and after reading the email, I was sure it would qualify for this blog 
. The email was about the learnings of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance narrated by his close friend A.G. Krishnamurthy of Mudra Communications. Inspired by the characteristics of Dhirubhai, Mr. Krishnamurthy coined the term “Dhirubhaism“ , which consisted of the insightful lessons from Dhirubhai. Some of the inspiring Dhirubhaism’s are mentioned below:
Note: ”I” in the article refers to Mr. Krishnamurthy. ”He” refers to Mr. Dhirubhai.
Roll up your sleeves and help
You and your team share the same DNA. Reliance, during Vimal’s heady days had organized a fashion show at the Convention Hall, at Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi.
As usual, every seat in the hall was taken, and there were an equal number of impatient guests outside, waiting to be seated. I was of course completely besieged, trying to handle the ensuing confusion, chaos and protests, when to my amazement and relief, I saw Dhirubhai at the door trying to pacify the guests.
Dhirubhai at that time was already a name to reckon with and a VIP himself, but that did not stop him from rolling up his sleeves and diving in to rescue a situation that had gone out of control. Most bosses in his place would have driven up in their swank cars at the last moment and given the manager a piece of their minds. Not Dhirubhai.
When things went wrong, he was the first person to sense that the circumstances would have been beyond his team’s control, rather than it being a slip on their part, as he trusted their capabilities implicitly. His first instinct was always to join his men in putting out the fire and not crucifying them for it. Sounds too good a boss to be true, doesn’t he? But then, that was Dhirubhai.
Be a safety net for your team
There used to be a time when our agency Mudra was the target of some extremely vicious propaganda by our peers, when on an almost daily basis my business ethics were put on trial. I, on my part, putting on a brave front, never raised this subject during any of my meetings with Dhirubhai.
But one day, during a particularly nasty spell, he gently asked me if I needed any help in combating it. That did it. That was all the help that I needed. Overwhelmed by his concern and compassion, I told him I could cope, but the knowledge that he knew and cared for what I was going through, and that he was there for me if I ever needed him, worked wonders for my confidence.
I went back a much taller man fully armed to face whatever came my way. By letting us know that he was always aware of the trials we underwent and that he was by our side through it all, he gave us the courage we never knew we had.
The silent benefactor
This was another of his remarkable traits. When he helped someone, he never ever breathed a word about it to anyone else. There have been none among us who haven’t known his kindness, yet he never went around broadcasting it.
He never used charity as a platform to gain publicity. Sometimes, he would even go to the extent of not letting the recipient know who the donor was. Such was the extent of his generosity. ‘Expect the unexpected’ just might have been coined for him
Management lessons from “The Hare & Tortoise” story
During our childhood days, all of us would have read about “Hare & Tortoise” fable. The famous lesson from the fable was “Slow & Steady wins the race” however, most of the times; the first mover advantage holds true [except in some cases like the Apple iPod !!!]
It is a universal truth that “Teams always win” hence, the term “I” carries less weight age than “We” since, “I WILL NEVER WIN” only “WE CAN WIN”. The presentation below, which is an updated version of the old fable gives an excellent insight into Teamwork