To wannabe entrepreneurs, ‘The Fresh Brew: Chronicles of business and freedom’ by Amit Haralalka and Amitabh Thakur (www.landmarkonthenet.com) can be a veritable feast. The book is a collection of 25 stories of IIM Lucknow alumni, who pursued an idea or a talent, or started their own enterprises.
The ‘antarprerna’ (Sanksrit for ‘self-motivation’) required to succeed as businesspeople is not very different from that required to be a playback singer, a filmmaker, or a globally-connected football consultant, the authors note. “While they are different in construction on the outside, they are similar in spirit on the inside. Each of the individuals, regardless of the ‘business’ he or she is in, has a sense of self-belief and an ability to persevere.”
Dissonance towards stability
One key trait of entrepreneurs, as the opening story of Bimal Patwari explains, is that they do not like settling into a comfort zone. “Entrepreneurs, inherently, like surprises. They have a dissonance towards stability.”
Look out for pain-points in things around you, reads Bimal’s advice to entrepreneurship aspirants. Since the pain-points themselves are changing, you constantly need to identify what people are missing, he adds. “And you need to show vision to your employees. What would we be doing five years later? It is essential for the vision to be communicated to our employees to keep them driven and motivated.”
Lifestyle entrepreneurship
The story of Anjali Mullatti highlights the importance of ‘lifestyle entrepreneurship,’ as a choice of relaxed lifestyle in a calm and quiet city even while working on intellectually stimulating areas that match one’s competencies. In the authors’ view, what can be striking about Anjali’s life are her sense of purpose, intensity, and clear thought.
As for money, her views can be educative. It is not that you should not want to make money, but it can never be the driving force, says Anjali. “If it is, your motivation levels will always go down, because opportunity costs tend to increase with time and the grass always seems greener on the other side. On the other hand, if there is excitement about the idea driving you, then you will hold on.”
Setting the tone for the book is A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s foreword, where he avers that for success in all missions it is essential to have creative leaders. ‘Creative leadership,’ as Kalam elaborates, means exercising the vision to change the traditional role ‘from the commander to the coach, manager to mentor, from director to delegator, and from one who demands respect to one who facilitates self-respect.’”
Inspiring read.
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