The recent Lok Sabha (lower house) elections in India were the world’s largest election. The so-called dance of democracy was at a full show and despite all odds, it was the BJP or the Bhartiya Janta Party that got the mandate (even more than last time).
There are a few lessons to be learnt for businesses from this humongous event –
- Your top management is everything – People were not voting for their candidate, people were not voting for the party, people were voting for Narendra Modi. The same applies to businesses; the clients have chosen you not because of your account manager or the company name, but primarily because of the owner(s) of the company. Therefore, a kickass team with sucky senior management has a seldom chance of thriving.
- You need to create your own Brand – BJP never put their candidates in focus, it was always Narendra Modi. No one cared about the manifesto, it was always the brand Modi. The same applies to a company. People know Apple because of Steve Jobs, Microsoft because of Bill Gates (the cult followers and the recent generation).
- Success is Silent? Not really! – In the election, credit was taken even in places where it was not due. A lot of chest thumping was done. Similarly, in a company, success has to be brought to the notice of the world (I would like to argue that there is a hard line that needs to be drawn. Not many like a jingoistic attitude at work.)
- Cash in the bank is the deciding factor – BJP has 2.5 times more anonymous income than that the next 6 parties combined. With money, you can attract better talent, get rid of competitors and maybe even lobby to change the law.
- Connecting regularly with your customers – Remember Mann Ki Baat? Well, let’s face it, you could feel a connection with the Prime Minister in that duration. You need to do the same with your customers, clients; meet them often.
- Do not get stuck on failures, move on (and move the focus too) – With all the cash back in the system, no one is sure what purpose did demonetization serve. Everyone in India was affected by it, yet it seems as if people have forgotten about it, which is clear from the fact that BJP is in a majority.
- You are either in the game or unworthy – Anyone who questions the government is anti-national. Clearly, the company owners would love to divide and conquer people in their companies the same way.
These are all small business-related things, where the senior management runs everything with a totalitarian system.
But why are we discussing this, India is a Democracy, right?
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