Dhirubhai’s success mantras

The Reliance Group set up by Dhirubhai Ambani has grown into a huge empire and has become the number one industrial house of India. Birlas and Tatas have got left behind. Dhirubhai was a man of few words but his works talked for him. Yet at times he did not shy away from revealing his mantras of success for the benefit of others. Often to enthuse and encourage his officials and workers he articulated his success formulae in the form of slogans. Dhirubhai had earned no degree from any big name management institute but the fundamentals he learnt through his experience made him a living testimonial of business skills. Thus, he became an acclaimed Management Guru though example. Dhirubhai’s slogans are used as ‘Golden Tips’ to success. Some of those slogans or tips are given below that were articulated by him or revealed through working style :

• Whatever difficulties you face in life do not ever lose sight of your goal. Turn adversities into opportunities. Then every challenge will become an opportunity.
• If we want to make India great then we must create co-ordination, harmony and partnership amongst industry, government and society to gain the benefit of powerful and creative thinking.
• For our progress it is imperative to achieve correct harmony and relationship between the past, present and future. And we must work honestly with faith in that.
• It is good to set a deadline for a project to be finished. Still better is to try to finish the project before the set deadline.
• You need not run after the success. If you give firm resolve and qualitative endeavour due place in your life, then success will be running after you.
• In respect of Reliance and India, our dreams of development must be more expansive, our ambitions higher and our commitments deeper and meaningful. Only then shall India make progress and so shall Reliance.
• My aim is to give the maximum returns to the common Indian people on their savings. In the prosperity of the common folk lies the prosperity of Reliance.
• Just as the drops of rain create an expansive body of water, similarly the small savings of crores of middle class Indians can make a huge capital for investment.
• Thought is a power, an energy. The thinking must be big, thinking be fast and think ahead of others. No one has monopoly over thinking. Thinking is that foundation on which a person can build the palace of his success.
• Whenever necessary keep updating your dreams. There is no limit for the expansion of a dream and that of expansion of Reliance. No dream can come true with solid visualisation.
• Give the youth right working conditions. Inspire them. Encourage them with durable support. They are the limitless resource of energy. They will purely accomplish the tasks. Give their dreams expansive space and resources. They will not disappoint you.
• The success of Reliance is the glimpse of the reflection of India’s limitless capabilities and possibilities, Indian entrepreneurs, engineers, managers, officials and workers have great potential. Put together into a team they can create new records of achievements.
• Make impatience for work a contagious virtue. The impatience must be accompanied with a passion for quality work.
• The people (investors) bet on us because they trust us. We must prove that their trust was not misplaced. (We can’t betray them).
• Don’t let hurdles or problems upset you. They are challenging opportunities for you. You explore new ways and think of new solutions only when you face hurdles. Every defeat and success tells you that there was some deficiency in effort (in planning or execution or anticipation). During adversity or defeat the skill gets honed up (and a person or company emerges out better and stronger than before). The gold gets purified in a crucible.
• Throw out the ‘Impossible’ word from the dictionary of your industrious life. Be freed of hopelessness. And new thinking and new energy will guarantee the sure success.
• Often people are ignorant of their dormant talent and innate source of energy. The dormant talent must get a chance to come out, then the innate energy will explode for constructive purpose.
• What is good for India is good for Reliance. And what is good for Reliance is good for India.
• For success one must take calculated risks with use of rationalisation.
• The investment you do and so do the others. But in qualitative way your investment must fetch better returns than those of the others.
• Your business project should be executed in the minimum period and your turnover should be maximum (but without compromising quality).
• If you want your associates and workers to give their best treat them like members of your own family with same sympathy and consideration. They won’t disappoint you.
• I sold honest dreams to people. The people put trust in me and gave me their affection. For that reason they have the biggest right over the profits (earned by Reliance Industries).
• The criticism of the critics must be given greater importance than to the sycophancy of sycophants. You will correct your mistakes in time (alerted by the criticism) and won’t fall prey to over-confidence (generated by sycophancy and sweet talk).
• Do not be afraid of mistakes. Do be afraid of the tendency to delay the correction of mistakes. Mistakes are committed by those who try to do something. Only the dead ones and idlers don’t commit mistakes.
• Not amending the error immediately (upon its realisation) is committing another error.
• Continuity of working for higher and higher goals is the ladder of success and it should go on infinitely.
• As an entrepreneur whatever thinking and will power you have similar should be that of your team. You must yourself go forward to assist your workers.
• The success of Reliance is fruit of the collective effort (of all those connected with it in whatever role). The credit of this process of victory should not be apportioned because all units of an enterprise are equally important.
• Security be created for every member of the every team. A secure worker gives his best show.
• The fear of crashing down prevents one from attempting the longest leap. Similarly the fear of loss distances you from the success.
• Instead of reading Gita (everyday like a parrot) it is better to act upon it (its philosophy or advice). So, I have tried to live Gita.
• Everyone has the right to see dreams of progress. But the dreams be seen with eyes open and rationale.
• The task which is said to be difficult is never impossible. Every task is impossible until someone tries to accomplish it.
• The dreams you see must be within the limits of your capabilities and capacity. One should not try to build castles in the air. The dream must have the ground of possiblity of its coming true.
• Have close and cordial relationship with your workers. The closeness be such that it should provide them encouragement to do better.
• An entrepreneur must have constant communication with his workers and associates. The entrepreneur with communication skills gets half of his problems solved automatically.
• It is profitable to have the desire to know the mind and the opinion of associates, employees and workers instead of having them keep their lips closed. Give them the opportunity to speak their mind to enable yourself to gain from their creative power.
• The entrepreneur’s body language must be such that it should make associates feel closeness to him.
• Every Indian must trust the other Indian. The alien rulers had destroyed this mutual trust between Indians. The nation had been deprived of the energy of this mutual trust. The lack of trust breeds the malignant forces. The mutual trust and transparency gains impetus and progress to industriousness.
• It is not necessary for the supply to be according to the demand. You must make efforts to create demand for your product through better supply and quality service. Instead of waiting for demand to come, you must supply. The demand would itself get created.
• Merely maintaining the quality of your product is not enough. It should be updated according to the requirement of the consumers or market.
• Money is merely a means. It should not be made the goal or target. Money should be used with a view to developing resources in new fields. Then money will itself keep adding up as the by-product of those endeavours.
• A quality product is its own advertisement. It is ambassador of your enterprise. With your quality product you directly come in touch with your consumer.
• If with strong determination and commitment you pool all your efforts in the endeavour then your success is certain.
• You must delegate powers to your associates to enable them to further develop and refine their skills or capabilities. You will be the gainer. They must feel that their capability is being recognised and honoured. In this way you will get the benefit of his extra-ordinary capability. You must always remember that every worker wants to show his best or special skills to gain respect in the place of his work, your enterprise.
• An industrialist must adopt flexible attitude in respect of his business goals. Just like stagnant water breeds germs and gathers impurities, similarly a stagnant goal affects the quality of the product. Within the broad parameters of the goal some changes according to the situation be made.
• There is limitless possibilities of the expansion of Reliance activities. I will keep up my habit of dreaming. When you dream of achieving only then you can think of achieving.
• Being an optimist about your dreams effort be made for their meaningfulness. Pessimism makes even a fertile field of a good dream barren.
• Make optimism your powerful weapon because it is the sun that ripens the fruit of your labour.
• If one Dhirubhai can do so much then thousands of Dhirubhais can come together to make priceless contribution to the progress of the country.
• Even through difficulties keep moving towards your goal. Have the courage to turn adversities into opportunities.
• If you trust people they will in turn uphold your trust. I trusted them and they put their trust in me. But I must keep up their trust.
• Dreamers can win the world with their courage. See dreams and have courage to realise them.
• Have courage, I have unshakable faith in the courage.
• To young entrepreneurs my advice is that do not give up even in the face of difficult situations. The negative effects of despondency can be wiped off with the force of firm resolve, self-confidence and optimum optimism. The positive key to success is ambitiousness and initiative. I have full faith that young entrepreneurs of India will attain new heights of success.
• In every company, a heirarchy of systematic post levels and categories be established for creating opportunities of promotion and upward climb on merits. It will encourage the ambitious workers to work better and harder to earn promotions.
• A company must prepare its work force. The self-built human resource is better conditioned to follow the policies, aims and objectives of the company. A work force bought from other company takes time to settle down in the new policy framework. It is waste of time.
• To solve the problem the workers must be prepared and conditioned by the company itself according to its needs. The production work won’t slow down and the management won’t have to deal with the minor snags here and there.
• Every company must concentrate on its main business. The allied business operations do affect the working of the main business.
• Along with the qualitiy control of the product attention must be paid to the pricing of the product. It should be within the purchasing power of the consumer.
• The first entry of a product in the market with its own unique quality shall gain control of the market. New product should be paid special attention.
• The old products that have become outdated should not be continued with for emotional attachment reason and depending on the brand loyalty of old consumers. The product should be updated according to the demand of the time.
• For raising capital the price of the share must be determined according to the pocket of the common man whose saving is targeted. It will save you from the risks of institutional borrowing on high interest and harsh terms.
• If a public utility product of quality is not selling in the market due to big price tag then Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) buying facilities must be made available to the consumers.
• The good use of time (at production level) reduces the end cost of the product.
• An entrepreneur must be ready to meet the needs of future expansion plans. The timely man-power planning helps quick execution of the projects.
• A manufacturer must be ready with satisfactory answers to the questions of the consumers. It is essential for successful manufacturer and successful policy to anticipate the likely questions of the consumers.
• The production cost must be kept low by reducing the unnecessary expenditure. It will earn greater profits than the rival products.
• Instead of plethora of rules, regulations and procedures a company should frame only a few fundamental rules and policies to make the administrative system efficient and pave the way of progress.
• I learnt the lesson of farsightedness from the schoool of life. The dilemmas of future must be tackled with farsightedness. One must add this quality to one’s enthusiasm.
• Make your product a brand ambassador, that is in demand and already had established itself in the market. It attracts the consumer towards other allied products of the company.
• Keep yourself in the communication with the associates and employees. There should be family like atmosphere, affinity and outlook. The Reliance Group treat each of its workers as a member of family.
• Reliance demonstrated its capability to make products that had the ability and quality to establish themselves in the market.
• The levels of the powers of the associates must be clearly determined. Such clear demarcation of rights and authority prevents rivalries and internal clashes.
• An entrepreneur must see to it that the life of his workers does not become boring and burdensome. The problems of the workers must be assessed and solutions worked out to free them. Reliance group remains conscious on this respect.
• The policy of resources management must be according to the demands of the time. Reliance Group has set and example of this by manufacturing several products from its petro resources.
• At work place an ideal working conditions must be created for employess and workers. Reliance Group has provided maximum facilities to its thousands of workers.
• The industrialist who considers consumers as the top concern in his business his industry flourishes automatically and finds its way to go places.
• In the corporate world the working group should be nursed with protectionist policy according to the work-culture.
• To establish a product in the market if the entrepreneur is required to become a show-man he must not shy away. The launching of new product must be glamorous enough to become a long remembered event. The culture of advertisement should be extensively used. Advertise where it is most effective and attention grabbing.
• Have no doubts in your mind about the sales and the success of your product. Firm conviction in the success of the product and toil is itself the best remedy of anxieties.
• The best advertisement is one that makes the advertised products a part of the life of consumers.
• An entrepreneur should be a good listener. It gets him a bank of suggestions to choose from.
• Besides the established and traditional ways of business new ways and experiments should be made part of the business policy.
• Merely manufacturing a product is not enough. An entrepreneur must find new ways and options to establish the product in the market.

Above words articulated by Dhirubhai or shown by example through his working methods prove that through his determination and open mind he earned unprecedented success in business endeavours. It was matchless. His name may have been Dhirajlal (Man of patience—literally) but he had little patience to wait. His impatience to get on with things made a history in Indian industry. Very rare are such gems born in centuries.