After a long gap of almost 4 months, I wish to restart blogging. In the New Year when every news channel is taking a mandate (or lets say ’smandate’ - to fill their kitty’s with extra ruppaiyah), I would like to talk about the man whom I admire and can’t think a businessman beyond him - who has changed the phenomenon of doing business in India. The man is ”Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani” we better know him as Dhirubhai Ambani.

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, one of the leading Indian businessmen, was born on December 28, 1932 in Chorwad, Gujarat. Popularly known as Dhirubhai Ambani, he heads The Reliance Industries, India’s largest private enterprise.

Dhirubhai started off as a small time worker with Arab merchants 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 his mill near Ahmedabad. Dhirubhai founded Reliance Industries in 1958. After that it was a saga of expansions and successes.

Reliance, acknowledged as one of the best-run companies in the world has various sectors like petrochemicals, textiles and is involved in the production of crude oil and gas, to polyester and polymer products.

The companies refinery at Jamnagar accounts for over 25% of India’s total refining capacity and their plant at Hazira is the biggest chemical complex in India.

The company has further diversified into Telecom, Insurance and Internet Businesses, the Power Sector and so on. Their most recent venutre is DTH service. Now the Reliance group with over 85,000 employees provides almost 5% of the Central Government’s total revenue.

Dhirubhai has been one among the select Forbes billionaires and has also figured in the Sunday Times list of top 50 businessmen in Asia. His industrious nature and willingness to take on any risk has made him what he is. In 1986 after a heart attack he has handed over his empire to his two sons Anil and Mukesh. His sons are carrying on the successful tradition of their illustrious father.

Early life -

‘Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani’ was born on 28 December 1932, at Chorwad, Junagadh in the state of Gujarat, India, into a Modh family of very moderate means. He was the second son of a school teacher. When he was 16 years old, he moved to Aden, Yemen. Initially, Dhirubhai worked as a dispatch clerk with A. Besse & Co. Two years later A. Besse & Co. became the distributors for Shell products and Dhirubhai was promoted to manage the company's oil-filling station at the port of Aden.

He was married to Kokilaben and had two sons and two daughters. He also worked in Dubai for some time during his early years.

Life in Aden -

Kokilaben and Dhirubhai Ambani, In the 1950s, the Yemini administration realized that their main unit of currency, the Rial, was disappearing fast. Upon launching an investigation, they realized that a lot of Rials were being routed to the Port City of Aden. It was found that a young man in his twenties was placing unlimited buy orders for Yemini Rials.

During those days, the Yemini Rial was made of pure silver coins and was in much demand at the London Bullion Exchange. Young Dhirubhai bought the Rials, melted them into pure silver and sold it to the bullion traders in London. During the latter part of his life, while talking to reporters, it is believed that he said "The margins were small but it was money for jam. After three months, it was stopped. But I made a few lakhs. In short, I was a manipulator. A very good manipulator. But I don't believe in not taking opportunities.

Reliance Commercial Corporation -

Ten years later, Dhirubai returned to India and started the Reliance Commercial Corporation with a capital of Rs. 15,000.00. The primary business of Reliance Commercial Corporation was to import polyester yarn and export spices.

The business was setup in partnership with Champaklal Damani, his second cousin, who used to be with him in Aden, Yemen. The first office of the Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up at the Narsinathan Street in Masjid Bunder. It was a 350 Sq. Ft. room with a telephone, one table and three chairs. Initially, they had two assistants to help them with their business. In 1965, Champaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their partnership and Dhirubhai started on his own. It is believed that both had different temperaments and a different take on how to conduct business. While Mr. Damani was a cautious trader and did not believe in building yarn inventories, Dhirubhai was a known risk taker and he considered that building inventories, anticipating a price rise, and making profits through that was good for growth.

During this period, Dhirubhai and his family used to stay in an one bedroom apartment at the Jaihind Estate in Bhuleshwar. Mumbai. In 1968, he moved to an up market apartment at Altamount Road in South Mumbai.

Reliance Textiles -

Sensing a good opportunity in the textile business, Dhirubhai started his first textile mill at Naroda, near Ahmedabad in the year 1966. Textiles were manufactured using polyester fibre yarn. Dhirubhai started the brand “Vimal”, which was named after his elder brother Ramaniklal Ambani’s son, Vimal Ambani. Extensive marketing of the brand “Vimal” in the interiors of India made it a household name. Franchise retail outlets were started and they used to sell “only Vimal” brand of textiles. In the year 1975, a Technical team from the World Bank visited the Reliance Textiles’ Manufacturing unit. This unit has the rare distinction of being certified as “excellent even by developed country standards” during that period.

Death -

Dhirubhai Ambani was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on June 24, 2002 after he suffered a major “brain stroke”. This was his second stroke, the first one had occurred in February 1986 and had kept his right hand paralyzed. He was in a state of coma for more than a week. A battery of doctors were unable to save his life. He breathed his last on July 6, 2002, at around 11:50 P.M. (Indian Standard Time).

His funeral procession was not only attended by business people, politicians and celebrities but also by thousands of ordinary people. His elder son, Mukesh Ambani, performed the last rites as per Hindu traditions. He was cremated at the Chandanwadi Crematorium in Mumbai at around 4:30 PM (Indian Standard Time) on July 7, 2002.

He is survived by Kokilaben Ambani, his wife, two sons, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, and two daughters, Nina Kothari and Deepti Salgaocar.

Dhirubhai Ambani started his long journey in Bombay from the Mulji-Jetha Textile Market, where he started as a small-trader. As a mark of respect to this great businessman, The Mumbai Textile Merchants’ decided to keep the market closed on July 8, 2002. At the time of Dhirubhai’s death, Reliance Group had a gross turnover of Rs. 75,000 Crore or USD $ 15 Billion. In 1976-77, the Reliance group had an annual turnover of Rs 70 crore and Dhirubhai had started the business with Rs.15,000. - (Source - 4to40)

I would have imagined all these to be helpful or unbothering after eating, but…… recent scientific studies have termed them as dangerous doing, after meal.

I would like to share these things, which being considered to be as must or wonderful after a meal, but actaully are dangerous.
 

* Don’t smoke - Experiment from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher).

* Don’t eat fruits immediately - Immediately eating fruits after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Therefore take fruit 1-2 hr after meal or 1hr before meal.

* Don’t drink tea - Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest.

* Don’t loosen your belt - Loosening the belt after a meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted & blocked.

* Don’t bathe - Bathing will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amount of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.

* Don’t walk about - People always say that after a meal walk a hundred steps and you will live till 99. In actual fact this is not true. Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we intake. Do walk, but after half an hour after a meal.

* Don’t sleep immediately - The food we intake will not be able to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine.

Scenario 1: Two guys are fighting and a third guy comes along, then a fourth and they start arguing about who’s right. “You are in Kolkatta”

Scenario 2: Two guys are fighting and a third guy comes along, sees them and walks on. “That’s Mumbai”.

Scenario 3: Two guys are fighting and a third guy comes along & tries to make peace. The first two get together & beat him up. “That’s Delhi”.

Scenario 4: Two guys are fighting. A crowd gathers to watch. A guy comes along and quietly opens a chai stall — “That’s Ahmedabad”.

Scenario 5: Two guys are fighting and a third guy comes he writes a software programm to stop the fight .. but the fight doesn’t stop b’cos of a bug in the program — “Thats Bangalore (OOPS Bangluroo)”

Scenario 6: Two guys are fighting. A crowd gathers to watch. A guy comes along and quietly says that “ANA” doesn’t like all this non sense — Peace comes in. “That’s Chennai”.

Scenario 7: Two guys are fighting. Both of them take time out and call their friends on mobile.Now 50 guys are fighting. “You are in Chandigarh”

WITH filmstars and celebrities going in prison, we are reading in newspapers lotsa articles and stories on the lifestyles of prisoners in Jail. While, reading these I was introspecting and comparing the lives at Prison with our lives at Job….

Some interesting analogies have comeforth hence, which I am presenting for you… The ones who are in jobs can better understand it…

IN PRISON

You spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell.

AT WORK

You spend most of your time in a 6X8 cubicle.

IN PRISON                

You get three meals a day (free).                                  

AT WORK

You only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it yourself.

IN PRISON

You get time off for good behavior.                               

AT WORK

You get rewarded for good behavior with more WORK.

IN PRISON

A guard locks and unlocks the doors for you.                

AT WORK

You must carry around a security card and unlock open all the doors yourself.

IN PRISON

You can watch TV and play games.                            

AT WORK

You get fired for watching TV and playing games.

IN PRISON

They allow your family and friends to visit.                 

AT WORK

You can not even speak to your family and friends.

IN PRISON

All expenses are paid by taxpayers with no work at all.

AT WORK

You get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for the prisoners.

IN PRISON

You spend most of your life looking through the bars from the inside wanting to getout.                                

AT WORK

You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside “bars“.

Humm?

So, which One sounds better?

Just give your precious Two-minutes, I have tried to prepare a Management Lesson, as, ”key to sucess” in your personal as well as professional life.

Lesson One
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing?”
The eagle answered: “Sure, why not.”
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit, and ate it.

Management Lesson - “To be sitting & doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.”

Lesson Two
A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.”

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Management Lesson - “Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.”

 
Lesson Three
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold; the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realise how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Management Lesson - (1) “Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.”

(2) “Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.”

(3) “And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!”

Thanx for reading….

The ad (might be the last one) in the series, is one of my favourites, it does not require some “itallically bold” lines to support the idea or extra ordinary visuals.

The creative team for this ad has beauitifully used, tremendous recognition of this brand in communicating the whole concept.

How quickly one loses his motivation level when he does not get any response from the people, although he is putting lots of efforts in bringing some finest work for them. The example of one such person is me. Although I am getting lots of peep ins from new ilanders, since, I have started this new sereis… but a response (Xcellent, Good, Bad or Worse whatever) will definitely boost me up to finding new creative works for you (after all finding, scanning, writing about etc etc takes a toll out off me sigh!!!) 

I was just trying to play with words, as in this ad of ‘Western Union Money Transfer’ (they are very aggressively advertising on Electronic, seeing losta people going foreign). There is a great advantage in print advertising that you could play with words as per your creative minds thinking.

In the Lollypop ad we have seen that words are not important… Here we see that Visual / Photograph is not important. What an irony is print advertising (thats why a reall creative bend of mind likes them very much).

Now… Now only 1 comment in 3 ads posted so far…. I think now I have to advertise myself… lol… but I am not as good as the makers of the 4th advertisement from the series… As a product adhesives are not considred as a happening thing in branding terms… But way Fevicol has advertised so far in electronic, it has succeded to carry its generic image even after these many years.. & it has been a household name too…

This print ad is the part of the legacy that Fevicol has carried so far in Electronic… Hats off to the team of Piyush Pandey’s O&M for giving so many wonderful advertisements & many awards in Cannes too.

The second ad of this series is of Sunsilk Shampoo. A perfect example of excellent visualisation in Print - just look at the thinest part in place of shoe lace. Even if there is no copy then too one can understand the idea to be communicated.

This is beauty of Print Advertisements to you.

Any Comments…..