High Performance Leadership lessons from movies and from world's top leaders like Steve Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani

Kartik D. Mehta (50) ADMI – FYMMS (A)
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*** 2 GREAT LEADERS ***

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Steve Jobs: History and Background
Steven Paul, was an orphan adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California in February 1955. Soon after the family moved to Los Altos, California where teachers remember Steve Jobs as a "loner" and "always had a different way of looking at things". Jobs attended lectures at the Hewlett-Packard electronics firm in Palo Alto, California, where he was soon hired as a summer employee. While working there as a summer intern, Jobs met Stephen Wozniak.
In 1972 Jobs graduated high school and started taking philosophy classes at Reed College in Portland. In 1974 Jobs took a job as a video game designer at Atari, Inc., where he saved enough money to adventure on a trip to India. He travelled to India in search of spiritual enlightenment. When he returned to California, he began attending meeting of Wozniak's "Homebrew Computer Club". Job's was not interested in creating electronics and was nowhere near as good an engineer as Wozniak, but he had his eye on marketability of electronic products and persuaded Wozniak to work with him toward building a personal computer.
Jobs and Wozniak designed the Apple I computer in Job's bedroom and they built the prototype in the Job's garage. Jobs showed their inventions to a local electronics equipment retailer, who ordered twenty-five computers. Jobs and Wozniak envisioned starting a computer company that would produce and sell computers. Together they raised $1,300 to start their company. Jobs came up with the name of their new company Apple in memory of a happy summer he had spent as an orchard worker in Oregon.

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Self - Leadership
Steve Jobs was a Self-leader; fully aware of his strengths and unapologetically used them to pursue his vision. He was often compared to a modern day Thomas Edison and I think you could also compare him to Galileo who similarly challenged authority and gave us a new way of looking at science rather than hanging on to outdated models.
Steve Jobs will be missed for sure, but what can the rest of us learn from his leadership style? Should we all just trust our gut and say, “to hell with what other people think”?
Firstly I think that if we know our strengths and work on developing them we should not be shy about letting people know what we are talented at. As the great Will Rogers said, “If you’ve done it, it isn’t bragging.”
Secondly we must realize that although we strongly associate Steve with Apple, Apple is more than Steve. Steve was smart enough to attract and retain good people around him to get the job done. Yes he was a charismatic leader but he was not a loner.
When we witness genius, such as that which Steve embodied, we might surmise that we could never be like him, but perhaps you can throw red paint balls in your life? Collaboration is great but not when it leads to procrastination or second rate solutions, so look for an opportunity to lead, to make a difference and to live your legacy – because nothing feels as good as being able to say, “I did that.”

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Leadership Qualities from Steve Jobs Focus: One of the greatest qualities of a leader is to focus on what is important for the business. As in the case of Steve Jobs, he had the ability to cut back on what was not integral to Apple’s products, be it marketing, services, and packaging including the keypad structure / buttons on these devices Ability to simplify: Any solution is obtained only if the complexity of a problem is split into simpler tasks. Each task accomplished will lead the way to the final big solution of the problem. Apple’s devices and software were simplified for the consumer. Jobs’ routine task of asking his workforce to identify companies with complicated products and services, which were “ripe for disruption” helped him create a benchmark of simplicity for Apple’s products. Excellence: Even during the days, when Apple and Windows were fierce rivals, Macintosh operating system was over and above the competition, because of Jobs’ emphasis on excellence. What set Apple apart was that they never settled down for the “good enough” factor? Charging ahead of competition: Steve Jobs never believed in racing towards competition, rather he insisted on charging ahead of competition and creating a new milestone, which others would have never even dreamt of reaching. For instance, the iPod and iTunes were an answer to the CD-burning trend present in the windows and other operating systems. Products before profits: Apple’s philosophy was always centred on building great products and services. Profits came in only later. This was because Steve jobs conviction was that great products will inevitably garner good profits. Engage in face-to-face interaction, always: Despite the technology-connectivity helping people to collaborate through emails, video conferencing and other channels, Jobs preferred to and emphasized on face-to-face interactions. There is undeniably a greater deal of collaborative thinking in a real-time set-up compared to virtual scenarios. Beyond the boundaries of reality: A broadening vision: “Think beyond the possible and even the impossible can be accomplished” was the innate driving force of Steve Jobs pioneering endeavours. Studying the bigger picture and attending to minute details: Steve jobs’ vision always encompassed the bigger picture to look beyond the immediate goal but at the same time, he also ensured that the minute details contributing to the larger picture were always honed to perfection. Combining humanities and the sciences: The incredibly intuitive interfaces of Apple products, do not point towards technical expertise only. The creativity, which spurns out of every Apple device, is the combination of humanities and science talent behind it.

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Stay hungry and stay foolish: The very famous coinage from Steve jobs, which has become a trademark catchphrase of Apple, probably attributes to his epitomizing leadership qualities. The phrase connotes Jobs’ relentless pursuit to perfection, the “hunger” to do something different and the all possible means and modes to satiate that “hunger”.
Traits, Skills & Creativity
Jobs was different from many other corporate leaders in that he always knew what he wanted. When he returned to Apple after his decade-long banishment starting in the mid-80′s, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. He actually wrote some of the better lines of the famous “Think Different” manifesto ad that helped refocus the company and bring it back from the brink, and even got personally involved in the editing of the finished spot (see the rare Jobs-narrated tribute commercial, below). The bar was always raised very high for his team, almost preternaturally. This tyranny of unreasonableness in demanding of those around him to leap above and beyond what they assumed was only just possible, was a reflection of his complete belief, almost a religious devotion, in explosive inspiration over process.
Jobs travelled around India in the mid-1970s for 7 months, and in the process discovered Zen. It influenced his thinking, and instilled in him a confidence to trust in his intuition when it comes to making decisions. He famously said, “You can’t ask customers what they want and then give it to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new”. Creative leadership is also about anticipating needs, and the confidence to rely on intuition to complement market and consumer understanding
Lastly, to Jobs, design was never for its own sake, but for something greater – the shaping of experiences. He thought as marketer but also as a consumer. And, from that vantage point, he understood how to simplify design and make devices part of our everyday experience, thereby enabling people more enjoyment of their complicated lives. He believed in simplicity as a means of engaging people and letting them feel close to something as overwhelming as technology. In an interview to Business Week in 1998 he said,
“That’s been one of my mantras — simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
For Jobs creativity was about knowing what you want, applying intuition, and keeping it simple. And maybe his genius is in how deceptively uncomplicated it seems. Yet at the end his approach to creative leadership required raising the bar remarkably high, inspiring others to do the impossible, and an almost unwavering ability to focus.

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The Steve Jobs Approach To Teamwork
In November 2000, Jobs purchased an abandoned Del Monte canning factory on sixteen acres in Emeryille, just north of Oakland. The original architectural plan called for three buildings, with separate offices for the computer scientists, animators and Pixar executives. Jobs immediately scrapped it. Instead of three buildings, there was going to be a single vast space, with an airy atrium at its center. “The philosophy behind this design is that it’s good to put the most important function at the heart of the building,” Catmull said. “Well, what’s our most important function? It’s the interaction of our employees. That’s why Steve put a big empty space there. He wanted to create an open area for people to always be talking to each other.” Jobs, however, realized that it wasn’t enough to simply create a space: He needed to make people go there. As he saw it, the main challenge for Pixar was getting its different cultures to work together, forcing the computer geeks and cartoonists to collaborate. (John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Pixar, describes the equation this way: “Technology inspires art, and art challenges the technology.”) In typical fashion, Jobs saw this as a design problem. He began with the mailboxes, which he shifted to the atrium. Then, he moved the meeting rooms to the centre of the building, followed by the cafeteria and coffee bar and gift shop. But that still wasn’t enough; Jobs insisted that the architects locate the only set of bathrooms in the atrium. (He was later forced to compromise on this detail.) In a 2008 conversation, Brad Bird, the director of The Incredible and Ratatouille, said, “The atrium initially might seem like a waste of space…But Steve realized that when people run into each other, when they make eye contact, things happen.”
That emphasis on consilience, even if it came at the expense of convenience, has always been a defining trait of Steve Jobs. In an age of intellectual fragmentation, Jobs insisted that the best creations occurred when people from disparate fields were connected together, when our distinct ways of seeing the world were brought to bear on a singular problem. It’s what happens when a calligrapher designs a computer font and when an animator strikes up a conversation with a programmer at the bathroom sink.The Latin crest of Pixar University says it all: Alienus Non Diutius. (Alone no longer).

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Passion Of The Steve Jobs
Even more than when he’s performing on stage, Steven P. Jobs’ passion for personal computing comes through when he talks about the years he spent cajoling his designers to build what he presented today as the world’s “thinnest” computer.
Privilege and petulance aside, Steve Jobs wouldn’t be someone we would be reading about (Ashton Kutcher impersonate) if it were not for his passion. Isaacson’s book makes it clear that Jobs really cared about the products Apple put out, the films of Pixar, and improving the standards of everyday design. Passion isn’t teachable and it is a testament to Jobs’ roaming behaviour that he was able to develop and create spaces to fuel his passion rather than be plugged into settings that killed it.
1. Do what you love
Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.
2. Put a dent in the universe
Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.

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Overcoming Obstacles
Obstacles to Opportunities
A great secret of success for legendary leader, Steve Jobs, was how to turn
obstacles into opportunities.
Because every business and leadership role encounters obstacles, we thought it would be encouraging to start our series with some stories of Jobs’ obstacles – and how he learned from them, grew out of them and ultimately transformed them into opportunities of a lifetime.
Steve Job gave a speech to Stanford University graduates revealing that he was a University drop-out having never graduated.
His start in life was tough to say the least, unwanted by his biological parents he was given up for adoption. Steve was aware that it took all of his adoptive parent’s savings to get him into college. He quit because of the expense, trusting there was a different path for him. Instead he attended drop-in classes in topics he liked while sleeping on a friends dorm floor. Low on finances he described his one free good meal a week as coming from the local Hare Krishna centre.
Together with Steve Wozniak, Jobs started a company in a garage on April 1st, 1976. The release of “Apple I” later that year, was the start of the meteoric rise of Apple Inc. The humble beginnings of Apple grew to become a $2 billion dollar company with thousands of employees.
One year after the Mac’s introduction Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple. Disagreements between the co-founders resulted in the board of Directors siding with Steve Wozniak and firing Steve Jobs from his own company! Steve Jobs, (in his speech at Stanford University 2005) said “I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
Jobs turned adversity into opportunity and focused on his two new ventures, Next and Pixar. He eventually returned to Apple to make it even bigger than before. He was a survivor of pancreatic cancer until it returned to claim his life in 2011. Jobs clearly accomplished so much with so little despite stresses that presented in his life.
The important message here is that Steve Jobs never let his circumstances get in the way of his dreams. Jobs chose to be proactive and solution- focused towards opportunities versus being reactive to any negative events that occurred.

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Greatest Accomplishments

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Empowering Others Steve Jobs was able to do what he did, to the outstanding degree that he did it, because what he did was financially profitable. Was that the reason he did it, to make a lot of money? Of course not. Decades ago he had already earned more than enough money for himself and multiple generations of his heirs to live sumptuously without ever having to earn any more. No, profit was clearly not the reason Steve Jobs continued to create and to innovate. Rather, profit was what enabled it all, and is what will continue to sustain his amazing work far into the future. What if, years ago, way back at the very beginning, Steve Jobs had rejected the idea of making a profit? What if he had considered it to be greedy and immoral to sell products for more than what they cost? He still would have been a creative genius. But only a handful of people would have ever benefitted from his creativity and innovation. Had he simply made computers and sold them at cost, he probably would have lived a very happy and fulfilled life. But he wouldn’t have been able to hire others to assist him. He wouldn’t have been able to invest in new facilities and technologies. There would be some pretty cool computers owned by a few hundred, or maybe a few thousand people. But there would be no Apple Stores, no iTunes, no iPads or iPhones. As it turned out, Steve Jobs chose a strategy that enabled him to share his dream in an ever- expanding and self-sustaining way. He chose to make a profit because he knew that profit would enable him to magnify the positive impact of each and every innovation. He chose to make a profit because he understood that profit would deliver his innovations to the highest number of people. There were many who called him greedy. Apple products have always carried a premium price, and the company maintains incredibly high profit margins. But then, Apple does not force anyone to buy its products. There are plenty of lower-priced alternatives to just about every product the company sells. And yet people regularly and willingly wait in line for hours to purchase newly-released Apple products at a premium price. In these times of serious economic strife, many people are quick to equate profit with selfishness and immorality. But as the brilliant and massively generous work of Steve Jobs makes clear, that thinking is precisely backwards. Profit is value that is added. It is not something that is taken. It is something good and useful that is given. During his lifetime, Steve Jobs added billions of dollars to his own fortune. He did so by providing many, many times that amount of value to others. Steve Jobs didn’t “need” all that money. But it is a very good thing for all the rest of us that he continued working to earn it. For every dollar that he made, the world received many more dollars’ worth of products, services and gainful employment. The truly selfish thing would have been for Steve Jobs to stop when he had made “enough,” maybe a few million dollars. Fortunately, he continued dreaming and creating and innovating long past that point. Even better, he built an enormously profitable company that will continue his beneficial work indefinitely.

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Just a few hours before the world learned that Steve Jobs had died, I connected through iChat with our younger daughter who was a hundred miles away in her college dorm room. In the screen sharing mode, I helped her make a few final edits on a paper she was turning in. Then we switched to the video mode and my wife and I had a delightful high-definition video chat with her. Moments like that are now commonplace, affordable and accessible to more and more people every day, thanks in no small part to the inspired work of Steve Jobs—and to the profit his work has earned, and will continue to earn. Truly, his profit is our gain. Because of it, his legacy grows more beneficial and his contribution to the world grows more generous with each passing day. “ The People Who Are Crazy Enough to Think They Can Change the World, Are the Ones Who Do. ”

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Dhirubhai Ambani: Background Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani (Gujarati: ધીરજલાલ હીરાચંદ અંબાણી; 1932) better known as 'Dhirubhai Ambani' Indian business tycoon who founded Reliance Industries in Mumbai with his cousin. Dhirubhai has figured in the Sunday Times list of top 50 businessmen in Asia. Ambani took Reliance Industries public in 1977, and by 2007 the combined fortune of the family was $60 billion, making the Ambani's the second richest family in the world. Early career Dhirubhai Ambani started by working with a firm in Yemen in the 1950s and moved to Mumbai in 1958 to start his own business in spices. After making modest profits, he moved into textiles and opened a mill in Naroda industrial area of Ahmedabad. He founded Reliance Industries in 1966, and as of 2012, the company has over 85,000 employees and provides almost 5% of the Central Government's total tax revenue. As of 2012, Reliance Industries was listed among top 100 firms in Fortune 500 list of world's biggest companies by revenues. Early life
Dhirubhai Ambani was born on 28 December1932 at Kukaswada near Chorwad, Jamnagar (now the state of Gujarat, India) to Hirachand Gordhandhas Ambani and Jamnaben in a Modh family of modest means(Incidentally, The Gandhis and Ambanis came from the same gothra, the trading community of Modh baniyas). Hirachand Govardhandhas Ambani earned little as a village school teacher. But his wife, Jamanaben knew how to stretch every paisa in a long way. Hirachand and Jamanaben had two daughters - Trilochanaben and Jasuben and three sons - Ramnikbhai, Dhirubhai and Natubhai. Dhirubhai was extremely demanding, robust of health and difficult to placate from his very babyhood days.

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As a boy, he possessed immense gusto and enormous energy and was determined to do what he wanted to do in exactly the way he wanted it done. School life
When he was 16 years old, he moved to Aden, Yemen. He worked with A. Besse & Co. for a salary of Rs.300. Two years later, A. Besse & Co. became the distributors for Shell products, and Dhirubhai was promoted to manage the company’s filling station at the port of Aden.
Dhirubhai was precocious and highly intelligent and also as highly impatient of the oppressive grinding mill of the school classroom. He chose works which uses his physical ability to the maximum rather than mugging up school lessons. When Jamnaben once asked Dhirubhai and Ramnikbhai to help his father by earning money, He angrily replied "Why do you keep screaming for money? I will make heaps of money one day”. During weekends, he began setting up onion/potato fries stall at village fairs and made extra money which he gave to his mother.
He was married to Kokilaben and had 2 sons, Mukesh, Anil and two daughters: Nina Kothari, Deepti Salgaocar.
9 great management lessons from Dhirubhai Ambani Dhirubhaism No 1: Roll up your sleeves and help.
 Sense of ‘ do it yourself ’
 He does not wait for infrastructure to be created to support his operations. He goes out and builds it himself; be it a power plant for his petrochemical enterprise or a canal to bring water from large distances for his cooling plant.
Dhirubhaism No 2: Be a safety net for your team.
 He gently asked his employees if they needed any help in combating the problems they faced.
 Knowledge that he knew and cared for what his team was going through, and that he was there for them if needed him….worked wonders for confidence.
Dhirubhaism No 3: The silent benefactor.
 When he helped someone, he never ever breathed a word about it to anyone else.
 "Expect the unexpected" just might have been coined for him.

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Dhirubhaism No 4: Dream big, but dream with your eyes open.
 Whenever a task seemed too big to be accomplished, he would reply:
“No is no answer!" Not only did he dream big, he taught all of us to do so too.
 His favourite phrase "dream with your eyes open"
Dhirubhaism No 5: Leave the professional alone!
 Management techniques of him is different
 The simplest strategies are often the hardest to adopt.
 “Let professionals do the work”
 This technique enforced responsibility among his team
Dhirubhaism No 6: Change your orbit, constantly!
 Dhirubhai's "Orbit theory" :
 When you change orbits, you will create friction. The good news is that your enemies from your previous orbit will never be able to reach you in your new one. By the time resentment builds up in your new orbit, you should move to the next level. And so on.
Dhirubhaism No 7: The arm-around-the-shoulder leader
 It was Dhirubhai's very own signature style
 Arm around the shoulder -With that one simple gesture, he managed to achieve many things.
 This tendency that he had, to draw people towards him, manifested itself in countless ways.
Dhirubhaism No 8: The Dhirubhai theory of Supply creating Demand
 He was not an MBA. Nor an economist. But yet he took traditional market theory and stood it on its head. And succeeded.
 When everyone in India would build capacities only after a careful study of market, he went full steam ahead and created giants of manufacturing plants with unbelievable capacities.

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Dhirubhaism No 9: Money is not a product by itself, it is a by-product, so don't chase it
 He did not breathe a word about profits, nor about becoming the richest
 A by-product is something that you don't set out to produce. It is the spin off when you create something larger.
Leadership Concepts Used By
Dhirubhai Ambani
The successful Indian business tycoon of his times in India Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani and his outstanding decision making and managing skills are discussed in the present report. It also focuses on the life history and his evolution as true leader and unbeatable business personality in Indian history. The report successfully establishes the leadership skills and capabilities of the chosen personality with the support of different leadership theories. Transformational and transactional leadership styles are defined as compared to the leadership qualities of Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani and also the path-goal theory is used to support the leadership skills of Mr. Ambani.
Key capabilities
Dhirubhai predicted the future of textile business in India and started importing polyester yarn by exporting spices under Reliance Commercial Corporation. The businessmen ruled the export and import businesses with the support of politicians and Reliance Commercial Corporation successfully utilised the support extended by the political connections. Ambani sensed the requirement of Indian textile market and stepped towards getting necessary clearances from the governing bodies to set up first textile mill in Naroda, near Ahmedabad in 1966. After satisfying the required eligibility criteria Ambani started concentrating on building the business gradually.
Vimal the brand name which is well known to the Indian household was the outcome of the reliance textile industry. Dhirubhai Ambani after having succeeded in the field of Textile business concentrated further expansion particularly related businesses. When the matter investment came in to the consideration Dhirubhai concentrated on generating capital by Initial public offerings (IPO) instead of consulting other financial sources such as loans from Banks. He decided to tap the Bombay stock exchange in an attempt to create equity cult on the way to make transformation of Indian financing system.
Dhirubhai made the right step at the right time which resulted in 58000 investors associated with Reliance in the 1977 and involved in Initial public offerings (IPO) by buying the shares. Reliance succeeded in gaining the confidence of the Indian customers and very soon the number of shareholders in Reliance climbed to three million which brought the considerable change to the Reliance business scenario.

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Dhirubhai Ambani promised the Indian middle class salary earners and succeeded in giving instant enrichment to the invested value with the support of stock market. Though he was fly by night operator Dhirubhai offered genuine value to his loyal customers. The early investors of the Reliance Industries were fortunate to gain such great value to their investments and became millionaires in the less span of time. Reliance was the first Indian organisation which held the annual general meetings in sports stadiums and the loyal investors of Reliance industries treated Dhirubhai with adulation and as an efficient leader who lead the organisation in successful path. Dhirubhai Ambani’s timely decisions according to the Indian customer’s requirement made him the true leader and successful entrepreneur in Indian Business history.
In 1982 Reliance group started manufacturing polyester filament yarn by setting up local manufacturing plant as a part of backward integration process. Later Dhirubhai entered in to various diversified businesses such as chemicals, petrochemicals, gas, power, plastics, and telecom services which made the Reliance group well established and one of the most trusted companies in India. Reliance group evolved as most influential and profitable business organisations by late 1980’s and the credit of rapid growth of the Reliance industries and its success in various fields goes to Ambani’s acumen and intelligence of sensing the future of Indian business scenarios. Dhirubhai Ambani was well known for his everlasting and healthy relationships with the local and central governing bodies of India.
Transformational leadership:
It is the perfect way of supporting leadership style of Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani leadership qualities as this theory focuses on creating the higher levels of commitment and motivation among the followers. Ambani concentrated in generating vision for Reliance industries and higher values and ideals of followers. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani succeeded in creating a feeling of justice, loyalty and trust among the followers and loyal customers who believed him during the initial years of his successful business journey.
He was a perfect example for transformational leader as he always transformed the fortunes of businesses in which he entered and succeeded. The trust and loyalty feelings which he generated in his loyal customers helped him in achieving the desired goals of Reliance industries and also he build the long lasting relationships with the political governing bodies of India. The political aspects play an important role in any business processes of any country. The companies need to have trusted and clean relationships with the political parties for aisle free business operations which Mr. Ambani always had to run Reliance business activities in India.
Many studies have focused on transformational leadership earlier and see that this leadership is similar to the charismatic or inspirational leadership. The charismatic or informational leadership qualities of the leaders transform the people’s goals, values, aspirations, needs and beliefs, which play a significant role, present competitive businesses.

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Transactional leadership:
In the present day scenario the increasing business competitiveness have resulted in need of optimised utilisation of available human resources and driving the followers in right path to achieve the goals. Leaders need to revitalise and transform the organisation to make the businesses successful and sustainable in the present competitive global markets. Dhirubhai Ambani’s leadership qualities resemble the transactional leadership qualities which focus on creating self interest in followers. Basically the transactional leadership is based on mutual dependence relationships and it follows the policy of exchange process which says that ‘I will give you this, if you do that’ (Laurie J Mullins, Management and organisational Behaviour, seventh edition, 2005).
The present exchange process of transactional leadership can be related to the working style of Dhirubhai Ambani as he succeeded in offering the genuine value to the investments of his loyal customers. Ambani promised genuine returns before getting Initial public offerings (IPO) from the Indian middle class earners. This scenario proves that Dhirubhai Ambani belongs to the family of Transactional leader. Ambani always emphasised on the clarification of goals and objectives of reliance industries and created interest in his followers which lead him to the peaks of success.
Path-goal Theory:
Path-goal theory has been chosen to analyse the leadership qualities of Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani and the qualities of the leader in path-goal theory supports the qualities of successful business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani and his leadership skills are better explained with the help of this theory. Path-goal theory establishes the fact that an efficient leader exhibits different types of behaviours at different situations to influence the situation which occurs in business activities and also to influence the perceptions of subordinates.
Directive Leadership:
Directive leadership involves guiding the followers in right path and also making supporters’ part of the policies and objectives of the organisation. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani successfully directed the Reliance Industries and played an important role in making the Reliance group one of the finest and capable industries in India. Reliance gained the confidence in customers by its policies and goals which lead to the tremendous success which reliance is enjoying till date. The initiation structure followed by Dhirubhai Ambani made the company successful in the market and initiation structure is also considered to be one of the major requirements of starting business operations.

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Supportive leadership:
Supportive leadership involves supporting the followers in various aspects of the business processes Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani is well known for his support extended to the loyal customers of Reliance Industries. He supported the loyal investors who invested during the initial public offerings with the genuine value and played a vital role in transforming them in to millionaires.
Participative leadership:
Participative leadership involves consulting the followers and consideration the views and opinions of them while making crucial decisions. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani conducted annual general meetings in sports stadiums for sharing the views, ideas and success of Reliance industries. These activities of Mr. Ambani made him the participative leader and resulted in closer to the Indian customers.
Achievement-oriented leadership:
Achievement-oriented leaders are more concentrated on the achievement of goals and objectives. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani always dreamt of seeing Reliance industries as most successful groups in India. Achievement oriented leadership involves continuous working on goals and objectives by making the optimised utilisation of available resources.
Overcoming Obstacles / Criticism
He has been accused of acting unethically, having manipulated government policies to suit his own needs, and has been known to be a king-maker in government elections. Although most media sources tend to speak out about business-politics nexus, the Ambani house has always enjoyed more protection and shelter from the media storms that sweep across the country.
Tussle with Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia of Bombay Dyeing was, at one point in time, the biggest competitor of Dhirubhai and Reliance Industries. Both Nusli Wadia and Dhirubhai were known for their influence in the political circles and their ability to get the most difficult licenses approved during the times of pre-liberalized economy.
During the Janata Party rule between 1977–1979, Nusli Wadia obtained the permission to build a 60,000 tonnes per annum Di-methyl terephthalate (DMT) plant. Before the letter of intent was converted into a licence, many hurdles came in the way. Finally, in 1981, Nusli Wadia was granted the license for the plant. This incident acted as a catalyst between the two parties and the competition took an ugly turn.

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The Indian Express Articles
At one point in time, Ramnath Goenka was a friend of Dhirubhai Ambani. Ramnath Goenka was also considered to be close to Nusli Wadia. On many occasions, Ramnath Goenka tried to intervene between the two warring factions and bring an end to the enmity. Goenka and Ambani became rivals mainly because Ambani's corrupt business practices and his illegal actions that led to Goenka not getting a fair share in the company. Later on, Ramnath Goenka chose to support Nusli Wadia. At one point of time, Ramnath Goenka is believed to have said "Nusli is an Englishman. He cannot handle Ambani. I am a bania. I know how to finish him"....
As days passed by, The Indian Express, a broadsheet daily published by him, carried a series of articles against Reliance Industries and Dhirubhai in which they claimed that Dhirubhai was using unfair trade practices to maximise the profits. Ramnath Goenka did not use his staff at the Indian Express to investigate the case but assigned his close confidant, advisor and chartered accountant S. Gurumurthy for this task. Apart from S. Gurumurthy, another journalist Maneck Davar who was not on the rolls of Indian Express started contributing stories. Jamnadas Moorjani, a businessman opposed to the Ambanis was also a part of this campaign.
Both Ambani and Goenka were equally criticized and admired by sections of the society. People criticized Goenka that he was using a national newspaper for the cause of a personal enmity. Critics believed that there were many other businessman in the country who were using more unfair and unethical practices but Goenka chose to target only Ambani and not the others. Critics also admired Goenka for his ability to run these articles without any help from his regular staff. Dhirubhai Ambani was also getting more recognition and admiration, in the meantime. A section of the public started to appreciate Dhirubhai's business sense and his ability to tame the system according to his wishes.
The end to this tussle came only after Dhirubhai Ambani suffered a stroke. While Dhirubhai Ambani was recovering in San Diego, his sons Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani managed the affairs. The Indian Express had turned the guns against Reliance and was directly blaming the government for not doing enough to penalize Reliance Industries. The battle between Wadia - Goenka and the Ambanis took a new direction and became a national crisis. Gurumurthy and another journalist, Mulgaokar consorted with President Giani Zail Singh and ghost-wrote a hostile letter to the Prime Minister on his behalf. The Indian Express published a draft of the President’s letter as a scoop, not realizing that Zail Singh had made changes to the letter before sending it to Rajiv. Ambani had won the battle at this point. Now, while the tussle was directly between the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Ramnath Goenka, Ambani made a quiet exit. The government then raided the Express guest house in Delhi’s Sunder Nagar and found the original draft with corrections in Mulgaokar’s handwriting. By 1988-89, Rajiv’s government retaliated with a series of prosecutions against the Indian Express. Even then, Goenka retained his iconic stature because, to many people, he seemed to be replaying his heroic defiance during the Emergency regime.

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Dhirubhai and V.P.Singh
It was widely known that Dhirubhai didn't enjoy cordial relations with Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who succeeded Rajiv Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India. In May 1985, V. P. Singh suddenly stopped the import of Purified Terephthalic Acid from the Open General License category. As a raw material this was very important to manufacture polyester filament yarn. This made it very difficult for Reliance to carry on operations.
Reliance was able to secure, from various financial institutions, letters of credit that would allow it to import almost one full year’s requirement of PTA on the eve of the issuance of the government notification, changing the category under which PTA could be imported. In 1990, the government-owned financial institutions like the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the General Insurance Corporation stonewalled attempts by the Reliance group to acquire managerial control over Larsen & Toubro. Sensing defeat, the Ambanis resigned from the board of the company. Dhirubhai, who had become L&T's chairman in April 1989, had to quit his post to make way for D. N. Ghosh, former chairman of the State Bank of India. It is also believed that V. P. Singh's move as Defence Minister came as a direct result of him catching Dhirubhai's tax evasion.

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Conclusion
The major qualities of Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani have been highlighted and the role of those qualities in making the Reliance group tremendous successful in the Indian market is discussed. The present report successfully established the fact that Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani evolved as true leader with his efficient and effective leadership qualities.
The timely decision making capability of him made the Reliance industries prime group in India. The resemblance of Dhirubhai Ambani leadership style and transactional are explained for better understanding of leadership qualities. The transformational leadership qualities are also compared to Mr. Ambani’s qualities in order to make clear understanding of the leadership capabilities. Dhirubhai Ambani can better called as leader instead entrepreneur as the initial steps he made in the business proves to be an efficient leader and his policies which he followed gives enough strength to represent him to be a true leader of his times.

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An Entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit. However, there is much more to entrepreneurship than this simple definition. Author and successful entrepreneur Michael Gerber once wrote, “The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We're born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience. It is developed, nurtured, and given space to flourish or is squelched, thwarted, without air or stimulation, and dies.” An Entrepreneur is a founder, opportunity seeker, the creator and initiator, the leader, problem solver and motivator, the strategizer and guardian of the mission, values and culture of the venture.
Q1.
Explain the pursuit of opportunity by BHUVAN in the “Entrepreneurship” context.

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Without this human energy, drive and vitality, the greatest ideas – even when they are backed by an overabundance of resources – will fail, grossly underperform or simply never get off the ground. The core difference lies in the intangibles: creativity, ingenuity, commitment, tenacity, determination, a passion to win and excel and leadership and team building skills.
These are the skills that were exhibited by Bhuvan throughout the conquest of his dreams. When Bhuvan was challenged to a cricket match, it was observed that every other person was against the challenge and wanted to back off. Even after having Bhuvan accepted the challenge the villagers initially wanted to beseech the King to ensure withdrawal of the challenge. In this entire furor, only on person remained unruffled and that Bhuvan himself. He was a risk taker and could detect the opportunity in the challenge which was perceived as a problem by all. Bhuvan was guided by his intrinsic and extrinsic values that provided him the right direction and impetus in realizing his goals. Bhuvan is the epitome of determination and dedication and symbolizes effective opportunity identification and assessment. The following diagram represents the pursuit of opportunity by Bhuvan:-
Bhuvan’s pursuit of opportunity can be traced to a series of steps that he followed to realize his vision and aspirations. These steps were in turn supported by certain inherent attributes that Bhuvan possessed, which ultimately led him to achieve the goal that he had set. Bhuvan was quick at identifying opportunities, which was reflected right since the initial scenes of the movie, where Bhuvan tries to save a deer from the British hunters. Furthermore, on being challenged for a cricket match, Bhuvan realized that this was probably the only opportunity that he might get to assuage the community from the burden of tax for three years.

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Where people saw a problem, Bhuvan saw an opportunity – a window to a more blissful and satisfying life. Challenging the British in their own game, may have been perceived as a big catastrophe by others, but Bhuvan saw the opportunity stealth in the contours of the challenge. Having noticed the opportunity, Bhuvan was quick to assess the risk involved in the venture and the possible return involved in the same. The risk was increase in tax by three fold, but the return was no taxes for the next 3 years. The fact that Bhuvan was able to take a decision after this analysis, under pressure from Captain Russell, community, Raja Puran Singh, is indeed remarkable. This manifests the willingness of Bhuvan to take a risk in trying to achieve the reward. Having accepted the challenge, Bhuvan faced stiff opposition from his community and people from the province, who even threatened physical action against him. Inspite of all the antagonism and hostility, Bhuvan was confident that his decision to accept the challenge was prudent and pragmatic and the only possible way to avoid unreasonable taxes. Stiff resentment and antagonism could not dilute his resolve and fortitude and he maintained to be committed to achieving the objectives that he had set for the community.
He employed creative methods to convince his community to support him in his endeavour and also join his team. He initially tried to portray that the game was extremely facile and could be learnt easily. He tried to prove this by playing the game in front of other villagers. Though he failed a couple of times initially, he finally succeeded. His attempt did not go in vain as he received his first support from Bagha. Thus, showcasing how one needs to be creative and innovative in trying to enter a persons psyche and convince him in sharing the same vision with you. Bhuvan was also quick to adapt to the format of the game in which he was completely naïve and had very limited exposure.

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Throughout the process Bhuvan was aided by his intrinsic qualities. Intelligence and Emotional Stability were key drivers that enabled him to identify an opportunity and seize it. Maintaining one’s calm and posture during testing times is an onerous task and Bhuvan managed to execute it with élan and panache. Bhuvan had a capacity to inspire due to which he was primarily able to attract other team members. This was well reflected in his ability to convince Goli and Ishwar to join the team, which was indeed stirring. Bhuvan was a great leader and led his team from the front. He motivated and encouraged his team to strive and enhance their performance continuously. As a leader he ensured that all the team members shared his vision and worked as a single cohesive unit in trying to realize the dreams that he envisioned. Throughout while pursuing the opportunity, Bhuvan faced many predicaments and impediments. However, each problem made him more mature, focused and committed, reflecting his perseverance and fortitude.
Above all factors influencing Bhuvan’s pursuit of his opportunity, the most important one was his Values. Bhuvan had deep rooted value system, which formed the foundation of his venture. He cared for his community and upheld the community’s interest above self. Thus, it can be concluded that Bhuvan was an analytical risk taker, who adopted creative strategies to achieve his goals. Furthermore, he had inherent traits and skills which aided him in his decision making process and achieving his targets unremittingly.

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Lagaan enunciates that power of “Team Work” and “Unity” and crystallizes the fact that even with limited access to resources and knowledge it is not an onerous task to achieve the set goals. The team managed to achieve its goal, due to excellent managerial and leadership skills exhibited by the protagonist – Bhuvan. Throughout the film Bhuvan employed various management concepts and practices which eventually led him to achieve his target.
Broadly categorizing the management concepts applied by Bhuvan, it can be noted that there are four management concepts that allowed his team to handle the tactical, planned and set decisions. The four functions are: -
Planning : - Planning was the foundation of Bhuvan's management and was the base upon which all the other areas of management was built by Bhuvan which eventually led to his success. Primarily, on accepting the challenge put forth by Captain Russell, Bhuvan planned and assessed accurately his current position and what his desired position should be, based on which he determined an appropriate course of action and implemented the same to attain the community’s aspirations. He carefully planned his strategy and tactics to ensure the acceptability of the idea by his community and also attract team members. It was evident throughout the film and cricket match that Bhuvan was cognizant of the fact that Planning was a continuous process and he had to constantly adjust his strategies to face the sudden and uncontrollable external factors that constantly affected his team and target both optimistically as well as pessimistically.
Organizing : - Bhuvan showed exemplary dexterity in organizing his team and recruiting the right set of people based on their skill sets. He did not manifest an iota of prejudice in selecting his team members which was reflected in his decision to recruit Kachra – a destitute. He organized all his resources to put into practice the course of action that was planned. He maintained a process of creating structure, establishing relationships, and allocating resources to accomplish the goals of the team. He also ensured harmonization of team members and molded the team to perform as a single cohesive unit.
Directing : - Bhuvan was recognized as a leader for his commitment to persist, personal competence, clear communication and capacity for caring for others. Bhuvan directed his team to achieve the set goals and also accomplishing their personal goals, by empowering them through motivation, communication, effective leadership and training. He had the objective clearly set and reiterated the objective to his team members regularly to ensure no loss of focus and determination. He directed and led his team proficiently during the cricket match as well, showcasing fortitude and perseverance.
Q2.
What are the key management concepts applied by Bhuvan in “Lagaan”?

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Controlling : - Bhuvan had set inherent performance standards and constantly evaluated and reported actual performance, articulating the areas where his team members needed to improve. The film portrayed that the team practiced and trained regularly to achieve high level of performance. Furthermore, Bhuvan displayed exceptional leadership skills in controlling the outburst of his team members on the deceit of Lakha and bringing harmony and attention back into the team. Bhuvan may have been portrayed as an admirable leader but he was driven by his determination and commitment to ensure the security of his villagers.
“ A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. “

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Throughout the film Bhuvan had been applying the 14 principles of management enlisted by Henry Fayol directly or indirectly. Following table depicts the method in which Bhuvan applied the 14 principles : -
Principles of Management Detail
Division of Work
Bhuvan ensured that his team members specialized in certain aspects and continuously improved their skills in that aspect. For eg: - Goli was specialized in bowling.
Authority
Bhuvan had clear authority over others and played the key role in deciding his team members and structure of the team. For eg:- Bhuvan displayed his authority while deciding to recruit Kachra, in spite of opposition from other team members.
Discipline
Bhuvan provided good leadership and hence received complete allegiance and obedience from his team members. Bhuvan also inculcated discipline through vigorous training, which used to take place during night as well.
Unity of Command
All team members had just one supervisor and there was no conflict of command. Unanimously team members had accepted Bhuvan as their leader and concurred with his decisions.
Unity of Direction
Bhuvan’s team members had the same set of activities underlying a common objective. When Bhuvan felt that his team members were loosing sight of the objective, he reiterated that the objective was not to win or lose a game, but to win the battle against the British’s tyranny.
Subordination of Individual Interest
Bhuvan inspired his team members to see that the goal of the community was paramount, which was reflected by his team members too. Never in his action did Bhuvan put himself before the dreams of the community.
Remuneration
Bhuvan explained his community clearly that should they be able to achieve their goal, they achieve a peaceful and blissful life for 3 years sans any tax.
Centralization
Bhuvan had to maintain a high level of Centralization in the team since he had realized that there was huge dependency on his competencies, but at the same time each member had equal rights to voice opinion.
Scalar Chain
Bhuvan maintained an authority over the team. However, he ensured that there was no loss of communication within the team and everyone felt equally responsible for the achievement of the goals.

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Order
Bhuvan maintained order in the team by careful selection and training of his team members. On the exposure of Lakha’s deceit he did well to bring order back in the team as well as in the village.
Equity
Bhuvan personified kindness and justice when he drafted Kachra to join the team purely on basis of his skills and potential.
Stability of Tenure of Personnel
Bhuvan expressed stability and security to Lakha, which resulted in his high performance during the fag end of the movie. Also, inspite of the weaknesses of other players like Ishwar and Bagha, he always encouraged and supported them.
Initiative
Bhuvan allowed Deva to showcase his skills even though it might have diluted his own personal vanity. Thus, reflecting that he encouraged his team members to take initiative which showcased strength of the team.
Esprit de corps
Bhuvan backed his team to the hilt, even when they made errors. He was willing to give Kachra a second chance despite the skepticism of others. He knew that Kachra can be a match-winner - and Kachra did eventually prove him right.
“ A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. “

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Lagaan is an epic epitomizing extraordinary feats by ordinary people who rise to the occasion and showcase the strength embedded in the concept of “Team”. There are myriad lessons that Lagaan enunciates, which can be imbibed in our professional as well as personal life. I strongly believe that broadly categorizing, Lagaan has the following lessons for each one of us : -
Seize Opportunities : - The protagonist in the movie i.e. Bhuvan was risk taking and it was his village ingenuity that led him to accept the challenge thrown at him by the British. Such risk taking and “thinking out of the box” is required for every new venture or a commercial startup. This exemplifies the fact that opportunities are hard to come by and when they do exist it is prudent to make best use of them. Opportunities need to be hunted for and realized to their potential rather than remain complacent and wait for things to happen themselves. “ Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people. “
Q3.
How would you apply the lessons of Lagaan to your life?

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Have a Vision : - Bhuvan shared a vision with his community of being assuaged from the burden of taxes for 3 years. It was this vision that acted as a torchbearer for him throughout his strategies and decisions. As an Entrepreneur it is important for one to foster a vision and plan actions revolving around the Vision. Also, it would have been impossible for Bhuvan to convince others to join the crusade, had he not managed to share the Vision. Thus, to make things happen the way we want, we have to imagine the future, and paint a picture in front of the others of what we want to achieve.
Do not underestimate competitors : - Captain Russell was very overconfident on his abilities to lead his team to victory. At the same time he underestimated his opponents and overlooked the ability of the competitors that resulted in his defeat. Hence, it is imperative to carefully analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor and never to underestimate their potential.
Put Community before Self : - Not once throughout the film was it portrayed that Bhuvan was trying to achieve a particular personal goal. Bhuvan envisioned the relief of his province and not just merely himself. This quality of Bhuvan was instrumental in him being able to achieve the acceptability and consent of the province. It is thus imperative for one to think beyond self and also focus on community goals and objectives. Each person has responsibilities towards his community and achieving them should be the primary objective.
Select Correct Team Members : - The entire process that Bhuvan followed to select his team members was highly enriching. He comprehended the skills and competencies of each individual and only after careful assessment did he entice them to join his team. This was highly enlightening as it had many lessons in store for us. Firstly, it is extremely important to recruit the right set of people with the right mix of skill sets for the smooth functioning of the team. Secondly, it also brought forth the art of attracting team members and providing responsibilities to everyone based on their adeptness.
Lead from the front : - Bhuvan portrayed all the qualities of an effective leader and was relentless in his pursuit of victory. He shared his vision with the team that they can win and get through the tax debt by winning a cricket match. He managed to motivate, train, encourage and treat his team members equally with respect. This brings to light the fact that an effective leader is one who leads his team from the front rather than just provide directions. A leader dons the most important role and is instrumental in the success of the team. A leader is as good as his team.
Support Team Members : - Throughout, Bhuvan encouraged and extended support to his team members. He openly supported Kachra and Lakha and even when provided them second chance and all necessary encouragement to prove his capabilities and allegiance. Bhuvan's support for Kachra and Lakha were soul stirring and articulated the importance of supporting team members inorder to obtain their loyalty, commitment and bring out the best in them.

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Foster Team Spirit : - Bhuvan’s actions manifests the importance of unity and togetherness as well as the importance of operating as a single unit in order to overcome the impediments. Had the team been disjoint and every team member pursued his own personal goals, it would have been impossible for the team to taste victory.
Put Team Objective before self : - Except for Lakha all players took part in the match for the upliftment of the village and did not let their individual aspirations overpower them. We also learnt from Lakha’s fate that if one lets his personal aspirations overpower him, then the consequences could be perilous not just for the individual, but also the team. Every team member is life a spoke in the wheel and
Be determined in face of opposition : - We always face many impediments in life, but a true successful entrepreneur is one who can overcome those impediments and remain focused and determined to achieve is goals. Not all will accept a novel and creative idea initially, but the true art lies in convincing people and making them visualize the same picture that you dream.
Never Give up : - It is extremely important like Bhuvan to maintain a “never say die” attitude and move towards your objective unremittingly. Despite all setbacks before the match and during the match, Bhuvan never lost confidence and determination and maintained his vigor and fortitude, key factors that resulted in his victory.
Always remain focused on goals : - Bhuvan ensured that his team members remained focused by reiterating the goal to his team members and community members. There will be many predicaments that one would face in his pursuit of goals, but one should never divert his attention from the goal and lose focus. It is extremely easy to stray away from one’s objective over a period of time, but what exemplified Bhuvan was his goal oriented planning and implementation of the same.
It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

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Chak De India’ is not just about sports. It is replete with myriad emotions. And the best part is that it is very realistic, making it all the more believable. It is a story of leadership, teamwork and the sweet taste of success.
Kabir Khan is newly appointed coach of India’s national women’s hockey team. A former captain of the Indian hockey team, now forgotten, it is Kabir Khan’s chance to get himself, his country and his team to the winning stand, once again. But this time all he gets is a bunch of girls who do not really believe in playing for the glory, victory and the country. He has a team that lacks the spirit. Kabir shakes them to wake up the winning spirit. The girls however have their own interests. They are more into other things than playing hockey. Kabir motivates them to look beyond these ordinary things and to play the game for pride, glory and victory. Thus Kabir proves to be a great leader.
• The Leader should be fair and impartial while dealing with the team-members
(The way coach Kabir Khan selects the Captain of the team)

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• Individual goals and agendas are always counter-productive
(As proved by the way two forward players try to become the highest goal-scorer at the cost of the team’s fortune)
• Those who do not play for the common goal should be ruthlessly dealt with and kept OUT of the team
(The way coach Kabir Khan orders players OUT of the team is memorable)

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• The leader should not hesitate to take hard-decisions on selecting and retaining the members of the team
• Nothing unites and inspires a team like a common goal
(The bashing episode at Mc Donald’s in the film)
• Knowing the strengths, weaknesses and strategies of competitors (of the organization / team) is essential to fully exploit the strengths of the organization/team, to overcome its weaknesses and formulate appropriate strategies to exploit the weaknesses of the competitors and to win.

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• Nothing is better for you than your biggest failure.
• If you have the talent, passion and commitment, you can make underdogs win.

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• Unless pushed to limits, your team will not perform at its best
• People always want easy things, and it is difficult to overcome cynicism
• Be strict and straight with your team. You don’t have to always be nice with them
• In short, be ruthlessly compassionate!

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• Strategy is important - know the team members individual strengths and weaknesses
• There is no alternate to hard work, not even smart work!
• If you are after a cause big enough, you will always have people to support you
• Follow your heart!

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• Success is difficult
• You must overcome each and every hurdle in front of you for a prolong period of times
• You must have the each and every team member working unselfishly towards a common goal.
• Failure is easy
• All you need is one selfish person (one rat shit) to ruin the whole project for everyone
• All you need is to fail one hurdle at any one time
• Understanding and respecting each other’s role and contribution is the important first step to cooperation.

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The Team MUST have:
• HIGH level commitment; WIDE participation
• DEEP interaction and LONG term view of benefits
Work together and Win together
Because "Sometimes Winning is Everything !"

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High Performance Leadership lessons from movies and from world's top leaders like Steve Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani

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