LESSONS FROM CASE STUDIES-1

LESSONS FROM CASE STUDIES

A. 10- COMMANDMENTS- CAREER

We have presented to you the case studies of 50- persons drawn from various walks of life. These persons belonged to ordinary families - thus they truly represent India. It is possible that you may fit in any one of them. Each individual’s saga of struggle is briefly analyzed and the salient points are pointed out.

It is just possible that every individual can find useful employment in many untapped Sectors like Small Scale Industries, Sports, Arts and Culture, Pets, Baby Sitting, Floral Arts, Astrology, Horoscope Exchange Centers, Social Service, Painting, Automobile Repairing, Fast Foods, Book Shops and Stationary, Provision Stores and so on.

What are the basic qualifications that are required to achieve success in these fields? The answer is simple-

Leadership with difference: We will give examples from our studies to prove our points.

Leadership with difference:

Take the case of the Youngsters in Kitchen to Factory. These youngsters were not satisfied with building a career in Multi-National Company like Grindwell – Norton – instead wanted to be entrepreneurs themselves. Choice of Partners is vital for success of any enterprise. In this case one is a Technologist and other a marketing man.

Their approach is one of abundant caution- first in a small scale they tried and made the product, then after actual trial in various places and perfectly satisfied about the quality equal to Grindwell Norton they decided to move into the Factory and till then only one was working.

In the case of Tirunavukarasu of Failed School Final Lad to Well-known Publisher it was promise to his mother that motivated him and propelled him to be an independent Publisher- but before that he worked hard in various publishing firms and understood the business thoroughly before entering the field.

In case of Parakalan of Successful Tour Operator it was the urge to earn without being burdening the family that landed him to learn driving and he used the experience to carve out a career for him.

It was combinations of talents of Three Ys’ again that made Prabu Book Stores a popular bookstores in Bangalore. Here education has nothing to do but initiative and Leadership that counted. Condemned as useless boy Aswatha showed remarkable power of resilience to take up the job of Car Washing. Affluent Society in Bangalore needed such a man and he grasped the opportunity presented to him.

Our first factor for Success is Leadership with difference.

2. Use your insight and Skill:

The next important quality for success is understanding, developing and maintaining your skill. Every person born has got his own skill. For instance the newborn baby automatically search for his/her mother for breast milk. A little grown up turn up the feeding bottle to the correct position before it starts sucking the milk.

As you grow the skill does not grow automatically. You must search insight, find, identify and develop the same. Take the case of Semmangudi- the Doyen of Carnatic Music – At the very young age he showed keen interest in Classical Music. Though his voice does not suit he decided that his career lies in this field and devoted wholeheartedly in learning and practicing.

Similarly Tanjore Painting. You have to learn, practice, practice this Art from scratch and once you learn the rudiments of this art and master the technique then this field is wide open for development and innovation. You must understand the taste of Art Lovers and adjust yourself to the times. For instance Calendars previously lacked the appealing power but with the dawn of lamination and digital camera real life size pictures are incorporated in this field. This concept can be applied to Tanjore Paintings also.

Insight allows seeing beyond the present. Astrologers develop this line to cast horoscopes and predict our past, present and future like Pitchu Sastrigal. This is the Art of Observation. A Person’s true nature cannot change with situations. It will be totally consistent. The better you know that person you can accurately predict as how he will react to the situation. So also the Stars and their positions.

Insight calls for wide opening of your senses. This process requires watching, observation and listening. Once you develop this skill you can become the best anchorman in TV-Shows. Kushbu in Jaya TV-serial- Jackpot -Quiz program- watch her as how she closely observe the participants reactions – represents the model of our above statement

It is not only observations alone that will make your career success but also should be closely centered on the subject you watch. My Grand son came from States to stay with me for vacation. He was so attracted to the Title song of Sahana – with in a few days he was able to sing that song exactly. I saw him observing and listening that song keenly before attempting to sing. I can call this Aggressive Observation. You develop this skill- you will reach a measure of success.

In understanding your skill you have to develop suitable environment. For instance if you want to be successful as a Singer- you must leave your involvement in other fields like playing football or cricket and visit Music Sabhas, listening Audio Cassettes of great masters and study the literature connected with music. Total Devotion to the subject is a must for successful career.

Insight and developing your skill are key factors for success.

3. Grasp the Opportunity when presented – do not let it go from your hand.

Every one will get one or two opportunities to push through in life. This may come at any time in the life cycle. If it comes when you are young- you are lucky. In most cases it will come. Wise men will grasp and hold it. Invariably they succeed in life and with their success they are able to provide all the comforts the family needs.

Take the case of Jega- from Apprentice to Technical Director. Although he was well off with Manager position at Kota, when call came him to serve in Malaysia he readily accepted. He weighed the option. The salary was 3 times higher and the tag, as Foreign Returned- all will enhance his reputation. To serve 3-years at Malaysia is to serve 9-years in the present Company in India. What will be the management attitude for 9 years- will they be consistent? Will he maintain the same result all those years? It is doubtful. But 3-years-definitely yes.

Pattu in Auto Rickshaw Driver to Boeing Mechanic was leading a hard life at Bangalore. Day he was working in Mico, night driving the Auto Rickshaw - A very tiresome schedule. He wanted to give best education to his daughters and was looking for an opportunity. The Middle East boom presented to him such an opportunity and he grasped it. He did not stop with that- from there he moved to States to serve in Boeing aircraft Company. He was able to provide all the comforts to his family. Besides that he was able to get jobs for all his daughters in States.

Correspondence is one of the most frequent opportunities you have - to present yourself to the outside world. Presenting your bio-data- prepared to catch the eye with out any spelling or typing error – not long or short but at the same time not missing the essentials- is one important tool you have to create strong impression. In case of Jega this skill earned him the job at Malaysia.

Impression is another key factor to attract opportunity. It may not produce immediate result but once you leave the place it will make the other man to think about you and soon you will get a call. This has happened to me many times. I applied a Consultant Job in a Textile Mills at Madurai. I met one Mr. Ramachari- owner of the Mills. At the end he did not give any assurance. But within a week I received the call from him asking me to take up the position.

Luck is yet another factor to get opportunity. Luck will not come automatically- you have to work harder for it. K.K. Birla is the son of GD. Birla. They have built Industrial Empire in India and abroad. I was working in his group in Malaysia. It was their first overseas Textile Mill venture. He was very particular that it should be the best in that country. As head of my section I wanted to impress upon him that we could also produce the quality yarn as good as Japanese yarn

We worked very hard to erect all the machine in time took trial run. In some machines the automatic controls did give problem. I advised my assistants to stand near the control and turn the mechanical control immediately if they face any problem. When Birla took round all the machines were working and turning good quality materials. He was highly impressed and that impression got me the Manager Job later. Every one of us was aware that some machines the automatic controls gave lot of trouble. Here luck was invited – not came automatically.

The same case is with Jega. If he has not applied to the advertisement calling Spinning Master Post he would not have got the A.S.M. Post. The luck for him existed in his application.

There is a story in Hindu mythology about the luck. A Rishi fed up with the life of Minister in the Kingdom wanted to leave the job to do penance in forest. He realized that the king would not leave him unless he creates a situation, which will anger the king. When the durbar was going on the minister sitting by the side of the king suddenly rose and kicked the head - gear of the King. For a while the king got wild but in a few minutes all saw a serpent came from the headgear. The king wondered the foresight of the minister and for saving him, the minister was rewarded with Chief Minister post – how luck plays its part even though you are not interested.

Legitimate Flattery: Often this tool will bring luck. Legitimate flattery is the one that makes the person you are flattering look good and at ease with you. It will open up free conversation between both and achieve the purpose for which you met. I wanted to get a job for my Doctor Son at Saudi Arabia- at that time Saudi Jobs was very attractive. I collected all the addresses of the Agents. I gave a ring to one Agent by name John - praised him for securing good jobs, lauded his service and told the purpose. My son received a call from the agent with in a week to attend an interview at our place itself.

3. Grasp the Opportunity when it was presented- does not let it go.
Tools: Correspondence, Impression, luck and legitimate flattery.

4. Hard work and Practice:

There is a saying that there is nothing equals hard work associated with practice to succeed in life. This is true in most cases. M.S.Subulakshmi – The Nightingale of India became famous on account of her hard practice of Music in her house. Her husband Sri Sadhasivam was very particular about this. Before every Performance he will sit with her and the practice session will go on 2-hours.

In the case of Malathi Hollar – She practiced yoga daily for 2 hours, joined sports and with continuous practice won gold medals in spite of her handicap. She underwent 25 operations and acknowledged that she gave untold suffering to her body before realizing that she has to live with the handicap. Even after successful career, she used to practice yoga after returning from office and with a visit to Handicapped Children Home to cheer them.

Padmanabha Iyengar realized that with 6-girl children his salary is not sufficient and worked in his spare time as typist with an advocate. He realized that hard work is the only asset he is having and utilized every minute usefully.

In case of Famida- the wonder girl – Her parents have to put very hard effort to bring up the child born mentally impaired. She cannot crawl, speak or move. She has to undergo physio-theraphy treatment from one month onwards. After nearly one year of struggle the child started little movement. She has to undergo Speech therapy to speak. Ultimately the hard efforts put up by the parents and Famida paid dividends. Famida won gold medal in Painting and recognition.

In all the above cases people turned the  crises into opportunities. They never dealt the position in terms of disasters. Instead they turned the misfortune into opportunity to redouble their efforts to come out of the situation and stand erect and taller. Viji did not sunk when her husband died of heart attack but decided to face the challenge boldly. When earthquake destroyed all their homes during Gujharat Earth Quake – People of Kutch faced the situation gallantly. They swept into action, arranged temporary shelters and camps, removed the debris and rebuilt their homes in short period.

 Shed fear of Failure to succeed. Many people loose all hopes of survival and swept away by fear. I can quote two well-known examples as how fear killed 2- Great Actors of Easter years- N.S.Krishnan and Thiagaraja Bhagavathar. Public knew both of them. They earned enormous money between 1940-46. Involved in Laxmikanthan murder case they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

They came out after independence and after hard fought out legal struggle. While NSK realizing the changed conditions, adjusted himself to the new situation but MKT succumbed to the situation and died after failure of his films. Fear of failure is common but those who take advantage and harness the energy released from such failures are able to move up the ladder easily.

 Cast away upsets by small things. It is very important for hard work to cast away small upsets by small things or despise and forget them. When I was offered unpaid apprenticeship while my colleague was paid I was upset but I determined to work hard and accepted the post on the hope that I can learn the rudiments of erection and maintenance of machinates.

Every body will be worried- my poor pay, my inability to purchase a good house with garden and lawn, my inability to purchase a car, my wife is not attractive and so on and they continue to live on forever with the above worries. If you think they are trivial and small things to worry – you will be propelled to do great things in life. In many places our case studies have shown this clearly. Aim for big things you will land up on something that will give satisfaction to you.

• Pattu never thought that he will go to America to earn and become American citizen but he relied on his hard work and willingness to work long hours.

• Parakalan never worried about his level of education but relied on his hard work and willingness to undertake any job to earn which landed him as Owner of Tour Operator.

• Mu.Va started his career as lower division clerk but work hard to pass many examinations in Tamil, moved up to Teacher and then Professor and finally got Doctorate and vice-chancellor.

• G.D.Naidu never went up to middle school but became well known Industrialist by his hard work and ability to face failures boldly and turn them as tool for success.

Our Fourth Key Factor for Success is Hard Work and Practice. The tools for them are:

• Turn crisis into Opportunities.
• Shed fear of failure.
• Cast away upsets by Small things.

5. Appreciate other Men Talents, Pick the best from them but be yourself:

Many People will ask me as to how I got interest in writing so many Textile Books. I will let you know the secret. I am having habit of collecting booklets and printed catalogs from Machinery Makers to understand about their machines. When I was studying my Textile Technology course I purchased one old book- Textile Mechanics by Taggard-an Englishman.

Later when I entered the job I found that the book was outdated but very useful. I was having lot of upto-date materials on the subject, which if published on the line of Taggard would be useful to all. I was not having required money to do so. At that time Taraporewala & Sons were famous Book Publishers and Distributors. I approached them with my manuscript. They readily agreed to print it. The book was appreciated by all in the Textile Industry. For me- Taggard was my Guru.

Take the case of the famous Play back Singer  TMS (T.M.Soundarajan). He initially set a pattern of Singing like Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar – soon he attracted the attention of Cinema world but later set his own style.

• Ravi Verma – The Artist Prince of Kerala is held in high esteem by all over the world and many Artists follow his pattern but many variations from it.
• Tanjore Painting is providing job opportunities to many people but many variations from it.

Many firms are having roaring business of  Fast Food Products like MTR.

You can find in all Metropolitan Cities - small business like Thangamani’s thriving.

Gandhiji appreciated  MS song Hari Tum Haro so much it was flown by air to him.

The Point I wish to stress is that you should use their talents or skills to your advantage but be yourself. MLV- followed the pattern of GNB in singing but is herself and was highly successful. Sudha Raghunathan of to day follows the pattern of MLV but she is herself and she is highly successful.

In every action of you-while you appreciate or set the model along – the one point is take the best of them but modify to suit your originality – never copy the style since success comes only to your talents. Life’s biggest failure is that people don’t do what you want to do and how to control the impressions of you.

• Key Factor- Appreciate and Take the best from others but be yourself.

6. Struggle, Struggle, Relax, and Struggle till You Achieve Your Goal.

Most of us have a tendency to leave our efforts in the middle if we find the same difficult. We start some other and leave the same. Such people will always find darkness and frustration.

Ask these Questions.

Should I really fight this or not?
What are the Consequences of this fight? And the result it will produce?
Am I prepared to be honest?

Once you are sure begin your struggle. Brinda Subramanian did this.  Brinda- The Social Service Organizer. She established the Makkal Sahya Vani to take care of destitute children, children run away from home. It was hard struggle but ultimately she succeeded in her effort. Scores of Children are living here, having good food, cloth and education – otherwise they would bee street urchins.

Rashid – The Painter was able to succeed in Middle East on account of the hard work he put when he was provided with an opportunity.

Gayathri Shankar- for Gayathri - born without sight– her mother set her goal to become Musician. Right from the age of 4 music lessons were started. At the age of 15 she passed her matriculation and continued to study and obtained degree. In addition to oral music at Kalakshethra she learnt Violin and specialized in this field. Titles came to her automatically- because of the hard work and struggle she put.

I will give you few tools that will make to work and achieve results.

• Learn skills that will help you to move higher.

Aswatha- the Car Washer –was a spoilt boy but one day he got a chance to wash a car and he was paid good amount. He realized his skill and started to make the same as his profession.

Thi-Jha- Ra –was highly successful as short story writer and found useful employment in All India Radio and rose to very good position.

• Avoid-Bad Habits that interfere with your work.

• Learn to control the anxiety of the job and concentrate.
• Relax in the middle.

Step-1: Take deep breath through your mouth, hold it for sometime, then release it through your nose slowly. This you can do at any place, at any time and in the middle of your work.
Step-2: Don’t sit in one position for longtime and always in erect posture. Just change your posture with some movement.
Step-3: If you are tired or worried –just recollect the happy incident on that day and dwell on that for sometime.
Step-4: Study the exercise and see what amount of relaxation you get and modify if necessary.
Step-5: When you do the exercise make sure that you are alone and close the door.

Step-6: When - ever I get frustrated I always turn to God. I used to ask- why this incident or happenings to me. I will pray sincerely to him to bring me out of this situation. This inward prayer has given me enormous strength to move forward. In Karma Yoga of Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says- Do your duty honestly and sincerely and leave the rest to me. This has helped me in my career to succeed.

Why does religious faith bring us such peace, clam and fortitude?

The answer is simple:
1. Prayer helps us to put into words exactly what is troubling us.
2. Prayer gives us a sense of sharing our burdens, of not alone.
3. Prayer makes us to act.

Once you are released from your trouble new energy fills in you driving out the old just like new blood replaces the old in our body in a continuous manner.

Finally- do not give importance to unjust criticism and worry about it.

7. Don’t Say YES when you want to say NO:

I read a very good book by Herbert Fensterheim and Jean Baer on the above subject, which fits apt for us. Normally we are very shy and accept anything in order not to offend the other person. Many times it lands us into very embarrassing situation.

Many people used to approach me for job in Textile Mills as if I am running Employment Bureau. Sometimes many influential people also come to me. Feeling delicate I used to promise them. This quality used to create in me enormous tension and take away most of time without any fruitful results. After reading the above book I started to be assertive. I have not lost any friendship on account of this change- in fact I was appreciated for my forthrightness.

Take the case of G.D. Naidu. All along his life he was assertive. This quality in later years helped him to float a Transport Company, establish modern workshop, to produce high quality blades.

Eswaran of Easun Eng. Co –was able to establish an Engineering Co to recondition Machine Tools on account of this quality.

Shivaji Ganesan – was able to create an everlasting impression by characterizing this quality in various roles he played.

There are some ways of travelling through life: 1) Obey 2) To bargain the best possible deal for life 3) To shut all doors and concentrate only on yourself 4) In search of knowledge.

The type- Obey – dances to the tunes of others – Their chances of success of these people will be average.
The- type-Bargain – will always be successful in life.
The type- Shut all doors- will be isolated and their chances of success will be less than 20%.
The type-Search for Knowledge- will create everlasting impressions in life.

If you want to say: Don’t say Yes when you want to say No – you must shed your fear first. People, who fear for every thing cannot take decision, cannot assert themselves and cannot command. We have seen in many of our studies as how bold people have achieved their goal – Jaya- the baby Sitter, Viji-the brave girl etc. by asserting what they feel correct.

Once you start to cultivate the above habit slowly you will see that you are transformed into a positive man prepared to take the risks in your life. It is said that those who are not much worried about their birth or caste or the past but stand erect, depend upon his skill and boldly say Yes when he is correct earns the respect of the Society.

Gandhiji admitted his weakness and that of his wife. This gave chance for him to correct himself. He became world famous. ( to be continued in next blog )

R.Jagannathan