Management lessons from Driving-6

Here goes one more Blog posting on Management Lessons from Driving and it also happens to be my 100th Blog posting. Hope you would enjoy reading it. 

# Accountability – It’s all about taking accountability for what you do – be it in driving or in your executive role.

I remember a joke that read a very long time ago wherein two friends are driving back home after the party and one guys say to the other..

Dude.. We are fully drunk and you are not actually supposed to be driving. So you need to be very careful while driving. Should you need any help, do feel free to wake me up. Because I am going to take a nap now.

The other guy says: Dude. It’s not me who is actually driving the car. It’s you. Do you realize that??

Being in Driver’s seat is all about assuming accountability for safe driving and you are the only one accountable and no one else.

Similarly, even in Corporate, you are responsible for every decision you take and for every action in your work.  It has to be in the best interest of the Organization. You need to be fully aware of that and carry yourself with utmost accountability.

Let me give a real-time example that talks about taking accountability, owning all the actions including the mess-ups and demonstrating absolute integrity.

GoZoomo is a start-up company started by three IITians couple of years ago and the thought-process behind their Business model was, in the US, three used cars are sold for every new car, whereas in India, it is only one used car for every new car sold. This is in spite of the well-known fact the Indian market is a very very price-conscious market. The major reason attributable to this is the lack of trust in the pre-owned car segment, ie., you don’t have a clue about the car that you are buying, whether the car is stolen, the documents for genuine or forged etc.,

So they wanted to crack the “Trust-factor” in their Business model wherein cars inspected and verified by GoZoomo only will be listed.  The business went on well however, they had a problem that dragged the Business down. The problem that GoZoomo faced was they could not standardize the price. Their pricing was comparatively higher than the vehicles listed in OLX or Quikr.  The buyers preferred such vehicles without realizing the hidden problems with such vehicles. This resulted in delayed transactions and eventually, it killed GoZoomo.

The CEO of this start-up had millions of dollars in the Bank funded by top VCs.  However, having realized that this model is not matured yet in India and they will continue to incur loss, the CEO decides to shut down the operations and retune the money to VCs instead of toying with new ideas or continuing any further and making the loss bigger.

I think this talks volumes about taking responsibility for what you do, even though you don’t have anyone right after you or even though you are not questioned by the other stake holders.

To sum up, it’s all about taking responsibility for what you do, be in it driving or in your work especially when something goes wrong. No one else can be blamed.

diD yOU enJOY ReADinG ThIS ArTIcLE? 

                                  If yES, 

yOU maY sHAre it wiTH Your FriENds tOO

Management lessons from Driving-5

I though I can write few more points on the topic - Management lessons. Hope you would enjoy reading it. Do check and leave your comments. 

# Which is more important – Engine or the Nuts; production or Marketing?

Which is more important? The engine said I am the heart of the car and without me, the automobile will be immobilized. The brake said, without me, every car will end up meeting with an accident and the heart which is right in the front the car will be the first one to get crushed. So every component had its own justification for being important and everyone decides that nuts are the least important components in the car.

So the nut thought, let me know show you all how important I am and it decides to give up when the car is at its full speed.

It was no more holding the wheels tight and all the wheels came off and starting running in different direction.

Then the reality struck that each and every component is important and they are expected to work in harmony, not to fight who is bigger or who is more important. This was beautifully narrated by Swami Dayananda Saraswathi in one of his speeches.

So, which function is more important in the Organization?  I still remember the debate that I heard when I was a trainee. Two people from two different functions, one from production and the other one from marketing, were arguing who was more important?

Without marketing, all your products will not move out the Facility, said the Marketing guy.

Without production, you will have nothing to market and sell. You will not get your pay cheque. Said the production guy.

But, in reality, every function is important and they are expected to understand the bigger picture and work in harmony. 

When you have a client meeting, on that important day, if the admin / facility guys has not ensured the rest room is clean, it will stink. If they have not ensured that there is enough fuel in the generator, you will be in for a big unpleasant surprise in case of any power cut. You would not want your Business presentation to be stopped or disturbed due to power cuts.

So there is no function which is bigger or more important. Every function has got its own roles to play to achieve the Business goals. Let us appreciate and respect it.

# You will scrap your new car one day – You would leave this world one day – But Let us enjoy the journey and make it count.

All the scrapped cars were once Brand new cars and all Brand news cars will be scrapped one day. But we always enjoy journey and make it count / make the journey worth it.

Similarly, the eventual destination for all of us is our graveyard.  100 years from now, except a few, all of us would have hit our destination. Keeping this simple fact in mind will helps us carry ourselves with humility and respect & treat other equally, not just at workplace but everywhere in our life. This will help us put our priorities effectively in terms of what we want to do with our life Let us enjoy the journey and more than that, let us make it count and worth it.

This might sound little philosophical, yet it makes lots of sense and puts everything into right perspective. 

diD yOU enJOY ReADinG ThIS ArTIcLE? 

                                  If yES, 

yOU maY sHAre it wiTH Your FriENds tOO