Money makes the world go around.
Businesspersons have always been essential for the economy of a country to grow. They are wealth generators, employment generators, value generators, and story generators. And despite the sometimes prevailing notion that they are cold and heartless people who care about nothing beyond making money, that they are vehicles of capitalistic greed, and that they are corrupt and deceitful, I have enormous respect for them.
There is another sect that is often frowned upon – that of ‘politicians’. But I will save my thoughts about them for another post. It is often said that only businessmen and politicians understand the real world, which is probably true because they both involve managing power. And we all know what a thorny crown a king wears. That’s why I say, these two sects are a class apart. They go for the jugular, they make colossal mistakes and they make all kinds of news, but they never tire of the game. I think the word is ‘burning desire to make a difference’, or ‘appetite to take on challenges’. That’s what separates them from mere mortals.
There are several stripes of businessmen, and a fair share of them are in it for just the money. Those who want to make a quick buck seldom have long-term visions and succeed in making the most of a given set of market circumstances. But those who want to be generators of wealth, employment, value, and a story, now that is what this post is about.
I see businesspersons who have strong values (in places like the Tata empire). I see businesspersons who are greedy to the point of delusional (in the Wells Fargos and Enrons of the world). I see businesspersons that start as a spunky startup (as they did at Google) before they go on to create an empire around a phenomenal idea. I see businesspersons who are struggling after a spectacular spell (like Blackberry and Kodak). They all have different stories of origin, different stories of evolution, and different stories of survival. From the pan wala next to your home in India to the ubharta sitaara like Nvidia, they are all in it for a wide spectrum of needs.
They have dreams like we do. They have ambitions like we do. They have the willpower and determination like we do. But over and above these, they have a fantastic grasp of the world or at least their corner of the world. This translates to shrewdness or business acumen. Even the best MBA courses cannot generate that shrewdness which is usually generated organically by way of exposure, circumstances, and yes, a fertile imagination. An imagination to make some difference. To not just languish on the planet, but to put that dent in the universe. Or at least try to do that.
For their part, MBAs run with their Excel sheets and presentations, disciplining the organization, managing people, communicating direction to stakeholders, and selling products and services to consumers. They probably use a host of frameworks and models to control the chaos inherent to an organization. They are great at number crunching and weaving tales. No wonder they are the choicest lieutenants a CEO can have by their side.
While generation of wealth is a part of the endeavour, spending the wealth generated on strategic initiatives requires a different mindset – the mindset of an investor. And if we go by what the aces are saying, managing money requires enormous control of emotions, to the point of being austere. Money and emotions are like chalk and cheese, really. Those who have trouble managing their emotions better pass on the task of managing money to someone who is self-aware and has self-control. We are talking deep waters of character, integrity, and rectitude. These are the skills that will float to the top in times of turbulence and crisis. And these are not qualities one is born with. OK, some people may be born with them, but generally, they are honed over years of strife and struggle.
Power is a heady thing. It can corrupt the corruptible and empower the incorruptible. But as things play out in an entrepreneur’s life, they have no time to mull over the dimensions of power; they just live it, day in and day out. Good judgement does emerge from learning from instances of bad judgement. However, ideally, every businessperson should have a North Star at the outset.
Another thing that comes like second nature to entrepreneurs is maneuvering in grey areas. The greater the grasp on the reality, the greater the degree of greyness. They make their decisions not at a juncture where they have perfect clarity on things, but when they have just enough reason to see (not to believe) that a certain strategy can work. While narcissism is a trait common to several business leaders, there’s no room for a fragile thing like the human ego to drive the business – it will inevitably lead to an implosion ala a house of cards. The tragedy is only compounded by the rapid erosion of trust and faith of a people that have been dependent on the leader’s choices. So these are the occupational hazards to steer clear of, which is the whole purpose of having a North Star.
I hope you liked what I penned. I welcome your thoughts on what you think makes an entrepreneur’s journey so fascinating. I felt this was a good time to explore this trope, as I hear more and more people around me ‘fancy’ entrepreneurship than ever before. As I said, I regard this group highly and consider fraudulent and deceptive enterprises as edge cases. I advise you to be cautious with your unbridled optimism, and though you are raring to go and put that dent in the universe, watch out, and take care.
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