Management Lessons learnt from Vasudeo – Part 2

Vasudeo is my father’s name. In a normal middle class Indian family of 70’s and 80’s me and my siblings grew up enjoying the freedom of calling him by first name within the four walls of our house. While we enjoy his friendship - his status for us is nothing less than that of a god…. This in fact is a first lesson… you need not follow any rituals to get your natural respect….. He being a man of few words, I learnt innumerable lessons through his simple actions…though the meaning of many I was to understand much later…..these are the few moments that have always stayed with me …..management lessons learnt from Vasudeo

“People spend their lifetime earnings in gold or something, we spent it on wood!” I remember my mother saying as my father chuckled. For no reason some statements stay with you…this one definitely did.

The story behind this statement was again a story of a simple middle-class family with its hero Vasudeo behaving a little off-beat – a story that guides me to date!

My father decided long back that he would not take his official quarters but go for acquiring his own house. In mid-seventies when he decided to go for his own house that was way beyond his means – it was a story of struggle which he and my mother were to live for next few years. His philosophy was simple – it was the house he was buying for his family and that could not be defined by any constraints – he would make the decision work.

I and my sibling would always remember our childhood as a happy one. There was neither a semblance of any furniture nor any electronic items in the house. When I look back I am amazed at the simplicity with which my parents kept us happy. I and my brother happily played cricket in the living room as there was no fear of breaking anything! Our finest memories are about our everyday family dinner – I think ours remained one of the few houses that did not have television but we had an entertainment of our own – we could see couple of flats in the far off building as we dined and my father would weave an amazing story about the characters in those houses whom we had named – in today’s sensibilities it may seem little odd but it was one of the most innocent entertainments I would always cherish!

As my father turned fifty he decided to take a voluntary retirement from his government job where he was doing well and join an “unstable” private sector (remember this was around 1983). When he received his entire lifetimes retirement funds, he first paid off his debts and then blew up every single penny to fully furnish the house in one go! Now that I have worked for a few years, the enormity of what he did strikes me – In the era where job opportunities were not as abundant as today he not only left his government job but also blew up every penny to start a new life…..all this he did without great expression of any sort of bravado. Later on, when I asked him about this decision, he had a very simple explanation – “I was due for a promotion but wouldn’t have earned much. Though I enjoyed what I was doing I decided that we all deserve a better life. I had told your mother not to worry and I’ll work for another 15 odd years to see us through safely”….something that he actually did. Now looking back I think it was a decision that had far better impact on our lives than staying in a furnished house…simplicity has its own charm but as you grow in the real world - a forced simplicity also may leave deep scars on your mind!!

I was to learn a few lessons as I grew up with this story……..

“Keep risk in its own rightful place in life – don’t let that be an overriding principle. Risk can’t be a guiding force in your future planning – it just indicates to you what fall-back you need to have in place (my father would often mention that if living where we were, became non-viable, we would have shifted to a cheaper place and would have actually ended in cash surplus!). You can’t really get ahead if you are too pre-occupied ‘avoiding’ the risk – no decision is ever risk-free”

“You need to assess your capabilities and leverage them wisely – the choice is really between living within your means and creating means to live your dream”

“Austerity is great but it is just a means to implement basic discipline….austerity by itself never ensures growth….. never use austerity as a façade to glorify your under performance or hide from ‘risks’ that you perceive”

“Feelings are good when they empower your passion to pursue dreams but sentiments have no place in decision making…”

As I thought I have learnt a lot from this story, there is a new beginning…. When I visited him last time he was quite excited with new developments….he told me there is a redevelopment proposal for our building….all of us have lots of sentiments for the house where we grew up when the least affected man is the one who bought that place!.... – “this building is old now and we’ll get a new bigger flat” he beamed betraying his 78 years!!

“Never confuse means with an end itself…do not get attached to milestones….they are just to be crossed and move forward!”

I guess I have still a lot to learn and of course miles to cross……..