1. VVS Bats for a Collaborative Team
By Pravir Bagrodia
For 800+ delegates and volunteers attending the Project Management National Conference,
India 2014, the concluding hour turned out to be very, very special. For, they got a chance to
interact with host city Hyderabad’s very own gift to the world of cricket. As project management
practitioners from Ahmedabad to Lucknow, Mumbai to Chennai listened with rapt attention,
VVS Laxman regaled them with vignettes of his illustrious career.
Dream, belief, determination, persistence, motivation, introspection, courage—that was
Laxman for you on September 13. Not rhetoric, not empty words, but key ingredients of
success, explained through real-life anecdotes! The former Indian middle order batsman bowled
over the audience with his saga of ups and downs, setbacks and achievements.
Team Comes Ahead of Individuals
“If we follow project management practices, we can achieve our goals, and attain sustainable
success in life,” Laxman told the packed hall amid pin-drop silence. Occupying center-stage
throughout the session, the star sportsman drew a parallel between playing in team games and
working in project teams.
Drawing from his long experience of playing matches under different coaches and captains,
Laxman listed traits that make a successful team and an effective leader. To paraphrase his
words:
• The foremost requirement for a successful team or organization is a good leader.
• Leadership is not a title or designation. It is three I’s: impact, influence and inspiration.
• A good leader gives his/her players ‘confidence’, helps them to overcome self-doubt.
• The right leader or captain opts for team members (read players) with the right attitude.
• It is attitude that separates the good player from the successful one.
• A never-say-die attitude is more valuable than ability or talent or skill.
• Players blossom when they get the freedom to play their natural game (way of working).
• Players (team members) must appreciate the achievements of their colleagues.
• A real leader gives feedback upfront; tells you what is helpful for the team.
Elaborating on the last point, Laxman cited the example of how he let his team down in a match
by defying the coach’s instructions due to his overconfidence.
Have a Goal, Believe in Yourself
Exhorting the audience to pursue a dream, a nostalgic Laxman revealed how his parents allowed
him to enter the world of cricket, a not-so-attractive choice back in the nineties. “My goal was
to become a doctor, both my parents being eminent doctors of Hyderabad. I was good at
academics. My favorite subject was science. I even qualified for medical college,” he recalled,

2. while adding, “But I was fortunate to have a mentor. When I was 17, he persuaded me take up
cricket as a career, convinced my parents.”
Sounding like a coach to conference participants, the retired cricketer urged them to believe in
themselves, without giving undue importance to others’ opinions. “Never lose your belief as a
team or an individual,” he said, referring to the lesson learned at the historic Kolkata test
against Australia.
“I believed that I am capable of playing for the country,” he said, adding that it was this quality
that differentiated him from many others. “Dream of it, live on the idea, let the nerves be full of
the idea and just leave other ideas alone…” he said, quoting from Swami Vivekananda’s message
passed on to him by his parents.
“Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude that separates mediocrity from excellence,” he
said, while urging each one to compete against oneself, not against colleagues.
Introspect, Speak Out, Be Consistent
Recalling how he was dropped in Bangalore soon after the historic knock of 167 at Sydney in
tough conditions, the batsman underscored the need for introspection. A decision to not open
the Indian innings and instead focus on the middle order was followed by the courageous step
of conveying the message to the selectors. This initially cost him a place in the side, but
eventually cemented his position.
Laxman recounted how consistent performance in domestic first class cricket regained him a
position in the national team. “Don’t brood over your past,” he asserted, “learn lessons,
improve, and return as a much better player.” He told the project managers how in lean times,
he invested in the best coaches, the best mental practitioners, took training, so as to grab the
next opportunity.
Be Determined, Do Not Give Up
Referring to his career choice as the biggest decision of his life, Laxman dwelt at length on the
importance of decision-making. According to him, there were no short-cuts to success.
From wearing the India cap in 1996—with a test debut in South Africa against the world’s fastest
bowler—to being dropped intermittently, to bouncing back in 2001, he chronicled his journey to
convey the importance of passion and perseverance.
Reading out an excerpt from a booklet, he said that nothing in the world could take the place of
‘persistence’. “Determination is essential to overcome obstacles. Persistence and determination
alone are omnipotent,” he declared.