Management Lessons from Failure - I am Happy I Lost.

Failure can be emotionally draining but it has its benefits too. I am happy I lost the contest.

I was a regular at my club meetings and the practise made me a winner in a contest series. I used to be very excited and happy. More than me, there was someone else who was excited. My then 8 year old daughter. She used to be very excited and happy whenever i won those contests. In due course of time, she assumed that I was the best and that I will always win. 

For the past two years, due to work commitment, i was unable to participate in my club meetings. One thing is sure, that when you reduce the effort tap into your pitcher, the water coming out if it will naturally reduce. The same happened to me. Due to reduced participation and with the advent of online meetings, the challenge of performing became tougher. While others improved, i went down on my quality of content and time management. This was the red signal which i didn't realize and it led to my failure. I lost in the contest.

What i didn't realize was that someone else was much more upset than me. Yes, my daughter. She is ten years old now. She has this image of a perfect mother who always wins in contests. She was unable to take the blow when i lost. She was angry and blamed someone else for my failure. I realized the good that had happened to me and thanked god for my failure. 

I sat down with my daughter to share the benefits of loosing. It is important we inculcate the acceptance of failure in our children. This makes them stronger and enables them to face failure in future. I shared with her that;

1. It is okay to Fail -  There is no one on this earth who hasn't tasted failure. This means that it is normal to fail. This needs to be understood and demonstrated in your emotions and actions both. 

2. Do not become over confident - Once you realize that you are not invincible, you will always strive harder when you participate in competitions, events or life. You will prepare well and give your best to it. 

3. Do not blame anyone else for your failure - Its not right to blame anyone else, but yourself for your failure. Identifying the reasons for your failure, helps you eliminate them effectively. As is said - असफलता केवल यह सिद्ध करती है कि सफलता का प्रयास पूरे मन से नहीं हुआ। Find out what is missing and improve on it.

4. Failure presents an opportunity - Failure in itself is an opportunity to identify what efforts were missing and improve upon them. You should do exactly that. Plan in advance, Practise and Execute well.

5. Derive inspiration from Failure - Observe people and animals around you. Take inspiration from poems like कोशिश करने वालों की by - सोहन लाल द्विवेदी (Sohan Lal Dwivedi) - (appended at the end of my article). Even a tiny ant does not give up when it falls from the wall. A diver doesn't give up when he is unable to find pearls in one dive.  It is important to keep the faith and rise again. Rise and try again and again with more vigour every time.

6. Remember, No effort goes waste, you will succeed ultimately - Efforts are always rewarded. In different forms maybe. But whatever efforts we put in will be rewarded. If you have decided that you want to succeed nothing can stop you. Keep trying till You Succeed. Put in all your efforts. And You Will Succeed. Like in the saying -  If you think you can, You WILL. If you think you can't, You're RIGHT. So, believe in yourself, and nothing will be unachievable. 

All these aspects of failure are equally applicable to Entrepreneurs and Businesses. It is said that Sports or extra curricular activities inculcate the fighting spirit in us. I can see that happening. I learnt, whether it is work or business, it is important to rise again when you fall. And Again. And Again. And In the end, you will be able to walk.

 

I am glad that this failure gave me an opportunity to share all these facets and more with my daughter. She shared her emotions and love for me and in turn, I gave her the gift learning to accept failure. I am happy I lost. My next step is to work harder and win. After all, Winning is my habit ! 

 कोशिश करने वालों की

- सोहन लाल द्विवेदी (Sohan Lal Dwivedi)

लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,

चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है।

मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,

चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है।

आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,

जा जा कर खाली हाथ लौटकर आता है।

मिलते नहीं सहज ही मोती गहरे पानी में,

बढ़ता दुगना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में।

मुट्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,

क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।

जब तक न सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,

संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।

कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

Keep Your Transactions Clear - Management Lesson - from Sava Ser Gehu by Munshi Premchand

Sava Ser Gehu by Munshi Premchand is an intriguing story of a farmer, Shankar, who is a clear hearted and well spirited human being. He believes in god and is a religious person. For those who have read the story, know that Shankar gets cheated at the hands of the village priest. For those who haven't read the story, this is a true story of its times, which not only happens with people in the villages but also happens with anyone of us in our daily life. 

This story often reminds me of the hard reality of life that one must be clear in their transactions when dealing with people. Humans can be very cunning. If not dealt with properly, you will end up loosing a great deal in life - only because of the fact that you didn't care to clarify your transactions. This happened to me once.

My friend runs a designing agency. It was then that i used to blindly trust people and friends. I had a small task of designing my Logo and visiting card for my startup.  When you have a friend who is a designer, you wouldn't think of going out in the market to enquire what work they do and how much they charge for it. I did the same. i asked her the charges for it to which she replied, I am not going to charge you 10 thousand for it. I was happy and shared with her that I am still in my initial phases of business and cannot afford an expensive design. 

This gave me peace and i was relaxed that my work will happen well within 5 thousand, maybe in 2-3 thousand. I didnt clarify. I happily shared my thoughts with her and since she was not going to charge me much, i kept the idea of my logo extremely simple. Didn't make too much of a - to and fro and accepted a simple design offered by her. She sent me an invoice of Rs. 6 thousand for the same. I enquired in the market and got to know that people charge anywhere between Rs. 500 to One thousand for a job like this. I was slightly flabbergasted at the approach but the fact that i got my work done was more important to me than anything else. So I decided to move on. 

I shared my logo with the lawyer to get it registered for trademark. To which he came back and wanted a little change in the design due to some legal requirements. And I went back to my friend asking for relevant changes. She complied and finished the task and sent the design to me on priority. And business carried on as usual.

A few days later i received an invoice of 12 thousand from my friend for 2 logo designs. One which she sent to me originally and the other which she modified for me. This was it. It was like Brutus stabbing Caesar in the back. But the point of significance here is not Brutus. The very fact that this situation arose, does not mean that someone cheated someone. It's about clarity of transactions. It's about managing expectations well. It is also about preventing yourself from being cheated.

Self Pity creates havoc on your mind and you enter into guilt conscious. Being so well read and informed, how could I let this happen to me. The thought that this would never happen to you was itself a piece of fiction created by your mind. It can happen to anyone. Just as it happened to Shankar. He was a genuine kind hearted soul, who not only got robbed of his entire belongings but was forced to enter into slavery to get repay his interest, leave alone the principal. What was worse was that his future generations also were forced to carry on the burden of his deceivable, immature and naive disposition.

Degree Or Skills ?

Every skill you acquire doubles the odds of success. It is your skill not your degree, that helps you achieve your goals.

Mark Zuckerberg learnt programming the same year I did. 1990s. Maybe even later. Today, I have a degree, he doesn’t. Yet, see where Mark is and where I am. 

His father taught him basic programming and later hired a software developer to train him privately. He started writing software when he was in middle school. His friends created the design of games and he used to code them. While kids played computer games, Mark was the one, who created them. In his high school years he built a music player which would track the listening habits of its users. So much so, that by the time he started studying at Harvard, he was already a programming prodigy. In January 2004 when most of us were busy studying for getting good jobs, he started writing code for facebook and launched it in a month in February. Subsequently he dropped out of Harvard to pursue his passion and complete his project.

It is evident from his story that Zuckerberg had the skills in him and since his early years, he had been polishing them. This is exactly why at the right opportunity, he gave up on his degree and propelled in the direction of success. – Skills not Degree.

The story is not very different in the case of Bill Gates who wrote his first software program at 13. It was a tic tac toe program that allowed the user to play against the computer. In those times one had to purchase computer time to use them. His mother bought computer time with the proceeds of the school sale, and Gates took keen interest in programming. Gates was so clever that he hacked the system for getting more computer time. It was at that time that he studied the source code of the programs that ran on those systems. He was eventually hired to fix those bugs. He was so proficient in programming that he was the fastest coder of his times. Time waits for no one, whether you have a degree or not. Thus he dropped out of Harvard after 2 years of college when he realized that this was the right time to start and focus on his business. – Skills not Degree.

It is because of the skills these people have nurtured that they have been successful. Not having a Degree has not been a deterrent in their success.  A degree is as important as the intent and caliber of the person using it, since u need to prove ur skills anyway. Look at some of our history – Arjun, the most skilled archer he was, did not have a degree in warfare. Yet he was the most accomplished warrior of his times. Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda, did not have any medical degree, but he was the one who brought out Amrit – the nectar of immortality. He brought and spread the practice of Ayurveda to the entire world.

The beginning of awarding of degrees can be seen when The University of Italy, regarded as the oldest university in Europe, conferred the first  the degree of Doctor in law and medicine. In India it came when Lord Macaulay introduced English education in India, so that they could create a class of anglicized Indians who would serve as cultural intermediaries between the British and the Indians. Eventually this grew into the education system of today. 

Let us glance at those who dropped out of college and are successful now, like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates and many others who were offered honorary degree by Harvard and other ivy league colleges. Accepting honorary degrees, which are non-functional, only demonstrates that degree is more of a collectible item in their possessions.  The influential and rich are offered honorary degrees for huge sums of donations or favours. In the Indian context, many actors and actresses including Amitabh Bacchan and Shahrukh Khan were awarded Honorary degrees from multiple universities.

On the other hand, The failure of the engineering ecosystem is a clear proof that only getting a degree is not the solution to the unemployment challenges of the country. There are 3500 engineering colleges in the country, which means about a lakh and a half - students graduate every year – most of who do not have the skills to be employed. This is such a disheartening figure. As of now, there are about 800 universities, 38,000 colleges and 12,000 stand-alone institutions in India, which push our young generation into the market. Degree may bring about a mental satisfaction of qualification to oneself and parents but it is no guarantee of the success of the individual in his field. What they do not realize is that without the skills needed to perform your duties, you will be fired from a company which hired you, because you will not be able to deliver. This is the precise reason why several rounds of interviews are conducted even before shortlisting a candidate for a position.  We see people dropping out of college and getting successful, and they did not really care about the degree that they were pursuing due to their parents’ wishes. They dropped out because they were looking at a much bigger picture of what they can achieve in their business. And this achievement of wealth creation has not been a function of what degree they acquired or left behind.

Similar was the case of Rahul Yadav of Housing.com who did not complete his Engineering degree at IIT Bombay. He was asked to take down Exambaba.com, an online question bank of old exam papers that he created at IIT Bombay. In the process of building Exambaba.com, he had learned programming, which enabled him to subsequently design a series of Google applications. Rahul dropped out of college in his final year. In 2012, he along with eleven other classmates co-founded Housing.com, after they had a difficult time finding accommodation in Mumbai. He came up with a new venture related to virtual, augmented reality, and interfaces. – Skills not Degree.

I cannot end without mentioning about a fellow Agarwal, Ritesh Agarwal the founder of Oyo who did not even pursue studies after his school. He founded oyo at the age of 19. Earlier, he used to sell SIM cards in his hometown in Odisha which is known is known to teem with Naxalite activity. Today, one of the world's biggest investors, Masayoshi Son of Softbank, wants to partner with him to help OYO Rooms with its foray into China. He is a textbook example of lack of formal education being no prerequisite for big success. He is a dropout, which made him eligible for the Peter Thiel fellowship for $100,000. – By the way Zuckerberg was also supported by Peter Thiel in his early days.

“Thiel’s fellowship pays kids a stipend that liberates them to work on ways to improve the world, rather than loading them with debt. They get mentorship, workshops, connections to resources, and an alumni network without a formal alma mater.” The world today is recognizing the fact that the best ideas and businesses do not come by getting a degree.

Skill is an abstract term which cannot be evaluated on bits of paper. It is a broad spectrum of qualities which is groomed within the individual and nurtured through the repeated practical implications in life. Every degree holder is not necessarily skilled - A complete dumb individual cannot qualify, even after attaining the degree. Thus without skills, even with a degree, one cannot attain success in life and skills thus turn out to be a necessary and sufficient condition for achieving success.