Lessons in leadership
Office bearers and guests shared their experiences at the 11th annual general meeting of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce — India Chamber
With deans of management institutions observing that there are not enough applicants for the regular courses, they are now shifting focus to developing courses for entrepreneurship at various levels, stated Shroff. Although physical infrastructure is "woefully lacking” and so too is long-term funding, the economist declared, "a lot of foreign capital is expected,” not as grants but project related.
Shroff referred to the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), conceptualized in collaboration with the Government of Japan, that aims to develop new industrial cities as "Smart Cities.” Equipped with the necessary conveniences and transportation facilities, this planned urbanization in India is intended to lure migrants away from the overcrowded metropolitan cities.
The octogenarian forewarned prospective entrepreneurs: "Love and business do not go together… Guard your backside when you are starting with friends…Familiarity can result in misplaced trust.” Mentorship is necessary and so too are meetings where business, cultural and emotional issues can be resolved. For those seeking to expand their business he recommended "Introduce more investors, introduce more professionals.” Once a private company becomes a public company, few founders can hope to function as chief executive officers for their company, revealed Shroff.
Presenting the highlights of the audited statement of accounts for the year ended March 31, 2014, vice chairman and treasurer of the Mumbai chapter Xerxes Dastur stated that income for the year ended March 31, 2014 being Rs 55 lakhs, and expenditure, over Rs 58 lakhs, the deficit worked out to Rs 3,80,000. There are events held every month, but the largest expenditure though was on the global AGM. They have a corpus of Rs 52 lakhs and during the year Shroff obtained a donation of Rs 20 lakhs from an anonymous sponsor.
"Apart from holding events we have self introspection at our committee meetings,” stated WZCCI honorary secretary and Mumbai chapter chair Adi Siganporia. He recalled how their Business Plan Contest was the idea of their India Chamber president Cyrus Bagwadia, and the Entrepreneurship Development Program has seen the emergence of Zeree Jehangirji, Vira Saiwala, Percy Elavia, Farrokh Irani, Murad Currawalla and Maher Dhamodiwala who are making their mark on other business organizations. "A few months ago we signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Goa Chamber of Commerce and we will have joint meetings… We are on the right track and continue to do what best we can,” summed up Siganporia.
"It is disappointing that the Parsi community is not taking interest in ways to learn and improve,” regretted Phiroze Kharas, former chairman of the Mumbai chapter. At the two programs conducted conjointly by WZCC and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) "the attendance of the young was very disappointing. It was mostly oldies,” he stated. He referred to the session on "Why businesses get stuck?” when the only Parsi in attendance was him. "The way forward for the WZCC” lies in initiating a Business Advisory Service with a panel of nearly a dozen experienced mentors offering advice and guidance "to push the protégé to stretch his/her capability” by evaluating the business plan/idea and assessing whether the candidate has studied the potential market before implementation. With the help of Lara Balsara of Madison World they are finalizing an advertisement publicizing WZCC’s contribution in terms of building business contacts, and meeting influential members, seniors and peers. The advertisement will feature an endorsement by Currawalla who was empowered by WZCC to found CG Lab Private Limited, a post production house.
Just as "WZCC is all set to harness business acumen of men,” its women’s wing, "WE (Women Entrepreneurs) wants to empower women entrepreneurs,” announced Homai Mehta who has recently taken over as chairperson from Dolly Dhamodiwala. "Please ensure your spouses, daughters become members of WE. There is no double fee” for WZCC and WE, clarified Mehta, elaborating on the programs they conducted last year on subjects like personality development, importance of first impressions… They have tied up with Stree Shakti, the ladies wing of TiE. Although three-year-old WE "is still a toddler… WE is dreaming big… WE needs your encouragement,” she stressed.
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(From left) Homai Mehta, (Photos: Farzad Khambata)Adil Dadachanji and Veera Mundroina
The activities of the Mumbai chapter in the last year were highlighted by honorary secretary Adil Dadachanji. The well attended events were the WZCC-TiE program at Rustom Baug, the trip to Industrial Boilers at Vapi and Ecoplast at Valsad, the workshop on body language, the coming together of WZCC and ZYNG (Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation), workshops and talks on Parsi Succession Act, yoga, English theater and renewable energy.
Poona chapter’s 10-year-long rewarding but frustrating journey was recounted by outgoing chairman Viraf Deboo. According to him they have 65 active members of whom the core group of seven to 10 meets every month. Belying apprehensions that working with the Poona Parsee Panchayat could be a challenge, Deboo expressed, "Any two associations can work together with synergy. This integration must be there if we want to move forward.” Every quarter they organize a members’ night with interaction with some adventure seeker like a mountaineer or sessions on speech and drama in the corporate world. The focus in the current year being women’s empowerment, Mahrukh Bharucha will succeed him as chairperson. They have lined up a series of programs on the use of computers and mobile appliances plus a youth program next May for the 18-25 age group along the lines of the Holiday Programme for Youth.
According to Siganporia, the credit for Poona chapter’s successful operations should also go to ex-chairman Adi Engineer. "He has been my boss at Tata Power and I have learnt many things from him.”
The evening’s master of ceremonies Veera Mundroina invited Farrokh Rustomji to announce the names of the new directors. Nominations had been received from Bagwadia, Jehangirji, Capt Percy Master, Siganporia, Tehmas Bharucha and Rustomji, all of whom were declared elected.
Strategic lessons
"We have guided missiles and misguided men,” commented Maj Gen (retd) Soli Pavri in his keynote address on "Leadership Lessons from the Battlefield.” Having retired in 2008 after being on combat duty during the Bangladesh war, as also the Kargil War fought in the 18,000 feet high altitudes of Himalayan terrrain, Pavri said he would dwell "not on the horrors of blood and trauma nor on emotive issues…but on how leadership can help save lives.” He gave a detailed account of how the Indian troops had to outwit their Pakistani counterparts at the Line of Control during the Kargil War "not with tankers, missiles or rockets but with the training, skills and an urge to get on with their task.”
Then a brigadier, Pavri’s Power Point presentation recalled in detail the layout of the land with the use of Google maps, the knife edge walks, the wounded soldiers who chose to forego medical aid in favor of military reinforcements and ammunition that with difficulty would be transported to the heights before the break of dawn. "The aim of this operation was to get to the top and interdict what the Pakistanis were doing in the other sector.”
Even after the victory, troops stationed in the inhospitable terrain had to withstand winter temperatures of -35°, stay in fibre reinforced plastic huts and the only respite in their lonely life on those peaks was through radio that permitted communication with base camp. According to Pavri, the unsung heroes fought for intangible reasons: "commitment to duty, honor and country — naam, namak and nishan.” He quoted Francis Quarles’ verse: "Our God and soldiers we alike adore,/ Ev’n at the brink of danger; not before:/ After deliverance, both alike requited;/ Our God’s forgotten, and our soldiers slighted.”
As against conventional warfare, in the current "fourth generation asymmetric warfare, the enemy is neither defined nor discernible…he could well be one of your known men,” declared Pavri to warn the audience to "be prepared and to protect yourself against it.” He then cited the instance of Rick Rescorla, the security officer hired by Morgan Stanley who with his "effective preparation, response and recovery in the face of disaster” was able to save the lives of nearly 2,700 employees occupying 22 floors in the South Tower of the World Trade Centre that was attacked on 9/11. The fact that Morgan Stanley heeded the professional advice and judgment of a security officer is a lesson for all business houses, reminded Pavri.
"Safety and security is so much a part of our civilian life. It cannot only be left to our defence forces. Do we not need to save ourselves? Being ignorant is nothing to be proud of,” observed chief guest Indrani Malkani, social activist and trustee of V Citizens Action Network (VCAN) when speaking on the subject: "Be a Smart Citizen.”
Convinced that every individual "needs to know the system, to know what makes it tick,” she advocated "consultation, not confrontation is the way to go ahead.” Since confrontation "only results in anger and frustration,” she suggested that we should instead "find a chink in the armor of others.” Their website, Together VCAN.in, covers four distinct areas: security, smart citizen, homes and neighborhood, and healthy living, and shows how an individual can deal with the municipality, police, state government and the election commission.
Pointing out that the rich have money to take care of themselves and the poor have the government to take care of them, Malkani stated that "it is only the middle class that has to take care of itself.” In an environment where consumerism is increasing and there is a trust deficit between the government and private bodies, women can usher the change we want to see in the system, she believes.
To cite the instance of how a business model can be created out of social innovation, she referred to the garbage dumps at Deonar where a study has revealed that the garbage soil treated with fly ash can be converted into construction bricks that are as strong as the traditional bricks made of agricultural top soil. Despite the increasing demand and supply of housing, no builder lobby is coming forward to exploit this business proposition, she stated. "Take the problem and turn it into an enterprise,” she challenged the WZCC members, explaining how the Model Bus Service that made it mandatory for all schools in Bombay to ferry children by bus instead of private cars that were congesting the roads proved to be "a great business venture for school bus operators.”
Convinced that there is strength in togetherness and unity in diversity, VCAN urges the use of resources so that "together we are a force to reckon with.” They are explicit: "We won’t do anything for you. We give you the tools and expect you to help yourself.”
She invited questions from the floor but the audience opted to interact over dinner, the meeting having stretched beyond 9.30 p.m. Even the announcement for the upcoming "Enterprise Dubai,” the mega meet in Dubai "filled with multiple opportunities” from December 19-21, 2014, although enticing for entrepreneurs had to be rushed through for the members were more interested in the repast that was already laid out!