Page 16 - Seniors Today - July 2021 Issue
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You have to take some risk and you have Q: Some top Indian homegrown
to identify your strengths and areas which entrepreneurs and business leaders
will keep you occupied, because you can’t like Ramesh Chauhan etc. have decided
lead a completely purposeless life. So the to opt out of the race and sell out to
thing is to reinvent yourself and identify multinationals. Is that something that
your strengths based on which you can you may consider?
experiment. You will go through a learning A: No way. I am a very strong believer in
curve, fine tune and make changes every perpetuity. Yes, there are entrepreneurs
time you will not succeed. However, in your who are hunters. They’ll build something,
interest, you have to keep yourself mentally sell it, hunt something else. And there are
occupied. I love playing golf. But I can’t farmers, perpetual farmers who would
play golf every day. want their company to continue, even
Q: Harsh Realities is the title of the book. if they are not there. It is like Procter &
Obviously, it’s a play on your first name. Gamble. It was started by an individual,
But what was the harshest reality that but now it’s continuing on its own steam.
you faced/ experienced in your life and And that’s where I strongly believe that
how did you win the challenge that it the company should go, even if I’m not
posed? there tomorrow. I have built mechanisms
A: Among the difficult moments I faced through the Board, in terms of the
in my life, I would say one is moving organisation culture, purpose, strategy,
from Bombay Oil to Marico. It took me and I think the Board will play a very
three years to convince family. It was not important role going forward. It will be
a financial separation but a management an independent board, where if tomorrow
separation because Bombay Oil had after a few years, if I’m not there, the
different businesses and I was getting company will continue. And the brands are
stifled in the organisation because of so very strong. I am quite sure that it’s there,
many family members, not able to attract for perpetuity.
talent, lack of capital allocation policy. So
it took three years, and I got all my cousins
on board, and we had to convince my
father and uncles. So to me, looking back,
that has been the most important decision.
If I had not done that, I would have been
struggling, managing family battles. The Marico range of products
We had a battle with [Hindustan Uni] Q: Through your journey, three values
Lever, when they entered our segment that you have seen personally that have
and we decided to take them on. How we held you through to where you are today?
took them on and then ultimately how we A: One is to have the right set of principles,
bought their brand, was another area. which includes integrity. I think it’s very
Finally, when I stepped down from being important, because that’s how you build
MD and my adjusting to the new reality a certain image of yourself. And image
which, looking back, has been very good. is very important, looking at it if you
want long-term success. You don’t want
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