ASSIGNMENT-1

LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES OF

MR.DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

Submitted by:6 IDIOTS GROUP Rakesh.R Sandhieep.A.C Karthik.R Pushparaj.A Madhan.G Prasanna Boopathi

LEADER AND LEADERSHIP:Leader and Leadership have been part of our history and we have seen many examples and heard many stories about such leaders. They were normal people who inspired others for a common cause and who are remembered even today for their courage to take decisions, for their ability to influence people. They are remembered for how they motivated everyone around them and how they created followers. Leadership and leaders are everywhere and in every field. Even in our houses. Our mother and father can be great leaders to each one of us. Lets see about a great leader and his leadership qualities from the business perspective.

LEADERSHIP TRAITS:Leaderships success is highly dependent on the personal traits of the leaders. Some traits are god gifted and leaders are born with it, while other traits can be learned over time.

Our favourite business leader is MR. DHIRUBHAI AMBANI (Born with God gifted leadership traits):Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani (1932- 2002) was an exceptional human being and an outstanding leader. He was man far ahead of his times; he had a great entrepreneurial spirit. He dared to dream on a scale unimaginable before, in Indian industry. His life and achievements prove that, backed by confidence, courage and conviction, man can achieve the impossible. From a humble beginning, he went on to create an enviable business empire within a span of just 25 years. Reliance Group is a living testimony to his will power, singleminded dedication and an unrelenting commitment to his goals. Under Dhirubhai Ambanis visionary leadership, the Reliance Group emerged as the largest business conglomerate in India, and carved out a distinct place for itself in the global corporate giants. Today, the Group's turnover represents nearly 3 percent of India's GDP. Shri Dhirubhai Ambani was not just firmly rooted in traditional Indian values, but was also a modern man. This was reflected in his passion for mega-sized projects, the most advanced technology and the highest level of productivity. His corporate philosophy was short, simple - "Think big. Think differently. Think fast. Think ahead. Aim for the best". He inspired the Reliance team to do better than the best not only in India but in the world. Prestigious awards and titles were awarded to him by national and international organisations.

MR. DHIRUBHAI AMBANI - A BRIEF HISTORY: He was born on 28th December 1932 at Chorwad, in Gujrat, India. He was born into a poor family and his father was a teacher in a school. He is said to have started his entrepreneurial career by selling "pakora (Indian fast food snack)" to pilgrims in Mount Girnar over the weekends. When he was 16 years old, he moved to Aden, Yemen. He 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 companys oilfilling station at the port of Aden. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India in 1958 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. This company is now Reliance Industries Limited and is India's largest private sector company on fortune 500 list. Reliance Industries Limited has a wide range of products from petroleum products, petrochemicals, to garments.

UNIQUE STYLES OF MR.DHIRUBHAI AMBANI:Dhirubhai has been an opportunist right from his childhood. All he needed was the whiff of a business opportunity and he was off to tap it. Dhirubhai has always shown all the critical leadership qualities. He would always grab an opportunity and strike on it. He believed that if a person wants to succeed in something then he should have complete access to information on that topic. Whenever he wanted to approach the government to get licenses, information about the competitors, market size etc. he would collect all these information, no matter at what cost it came. He also believes in destiny and gives all the credit to his luck. This shows how down to earth he is. Even today his company has a simple ritual of Puja when a new machine is installed. He isnt proud of what he is and he always believes in Simple thinking, Modern thinking. He didnt mind copying someone elses idea, which he could implement better than his competitors. As in the case of copying the concept of selling through showrooms for his brand Vimal to counter the resistance from the traditional markets which he copied from Bombay Dyeing. He always had the dynamism and confidence in future and was always ready to go against all odds. He always believed in himself. He has been successful in manufacturing world-class products. He has never had an ego problem and he knew how to get his work done from people. He was never ashamed to salaam anyone. Another incident that shows his vision as a leader is that when Reliances

Patalganga Complex was damaged due to floods. Technical experts from Du Pont estimated hundred days to make the complex operational but Reliance had the complete complex operational in twenty-one days. This was possible because of Dhirubhais vision, his confidence, his dedication proper logistical planning and making available all resources. As a true leader Dhirubhai had once said that, People think I have finally arrived but I think I have just begun.

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES OF MR. DHIRUBHAI AMBANI:Some of the leadership qualities that we wish to follow from him are as follows:-

Roll up your sleeves and help (Team player):According to Ambani he and his team share the same DNA. Reliance, during the time of Vimal's (Reliance Textile- was known as the brand Vimal) initial days had organized a fashion show at the Convention Hall, at Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi. Every seat in the hall was occupied, and there were an equal number of impatient guests outside the hall, waiting to be seated. The management was trying hard to handle the confusion, chaos and protests, when to everyones amazement and relief; Dhirubhai Ambani went to the door trying to pacify the guests. Dhirubhai at that time was already a name to reckon with and a VIP himself, but that did not stop him from rolling up his sleeves and diving in to rescue a situation that had gone out of control. Most leaders in his place would have gone home in their expensive cars and would have delegated this task to their managers. Not Dhirubhai Ambani. When things went wrong, he was the first person to sense that the circumstances would have been beyond his team's control, and not being a slip on their part. He trusted his teams capabilities. His first instinct was always to join his men in putting out the fire and not crucifying them for it.

Be a safety net for your team (He empowered his managers):There was a time when Reliance agency Mudra was the target of some vicious propaganda by few managers in the top management, when on an almost daily basis business ethics were put on trial. The managers, who followed business ethics, never raised this subject during any of their meetings with Dhirubhai because they were hesitant to raise this issue.

But one day, he gently asked one of the managers if he needed any help in combating it. That did it. That was all the help that the manager needed in combating corruption. Overwhelmed by his concern and compassion and the knowledge that he knew and cared for what they were going through, and that he was there for them and for the right cause, worked wonders for their confidence. Managers went back fully armed to face whatever came their way. By letting them know that he was always aware of it and that he was on right side through it all, this gave them courage, they never thought, they had.

Be a silent benefactor (He was humble, caring, generous and kind):This was one of his remarkable traits. When Dhirubhai Ambani helped someone, he never uttered a word about it to anyone else. There are many employees and managers who have come across his kindness and generosity, yet he never went around broadcasting it. He never used charity as a platform to gain publicity. Sometimes, he would donate money without even letting the recipient know who the donor was. Such was the extent of his generosity.

Dream with open eyes (His visions were real):He is a living proof that whoever dreams big and has the courage to fulfil it, than nothing is impossible. Whenever people working under him or with him tried to point out that a task seemed too big to be accomplished, he would say: No is no answer! He not only dreamt big, he taught us to do so too. Whenever things seemed difficult, he used to say "It's difficult but not impossible!" He dreamt big, but he was able to distinguish between perception and reality and his favourite phrase "dream with your eyes open" proves that. He would never let preset norms, laws or policies govern his vision. He worked hard, night and day familiarizing himself with every element that constituted his dreams. He studied every thorn that came his way and between his visions, and made sure it was eradicated. This is how, as he puts it, even though he dreamed, none of his dreams turned into nightmares. And he achieved one dream after another.

His arm around the shoulder (His motivation technique):This is Dhirubhai Ambanis very own signature style. Whenever he had time to speak to employee of the company in person, or if it was a conversation for a short walk till up to his car, he would instantly put his arm around the persons shoulder and proceed to discuss

the issues at hand as they walked. With this simple gesture, he managed to achieve many things. He would put the person at ease instantaneously. He will make them feel equal, someone who was loved and important enough to be close to him. And employees would walk away from that meeting feeling good about themselves and the work that they were doing, and highly motivated. He was always encouraging people to share their thoughts and ideas. Yes, this was one of the things that was uniquely Dhirubhai his warm arm around the shoulder of the employees did much more than words in letting every employee know that he belonged to the company, that he had trust in him.

Always stay ahead of times (Foresight):Mr. Ambani was not an economist. He was born poor, was from a conservative society of India. But his ideas were modern. At a time in 1970s and 80s other industrialist in India would invest in capacities only after a careful study of market, he had the vision, courage and risk to invest in gigantic plants and manufacturing units that would supply more than the required demand. The initial capacity of Reliance textile plant was 10,000 tonnes of Polyester Fibre way back in 1980, while the market in India for it was only about 6,000 tonnes. He had the ability and the foresight to judge the scenarios. The result was that the market blossomed to absorb supply, the consumer gained due to reduced prices and they demanded more. Soon Dhirubhai started exporting Polyester yarn to the U.S. He had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly how the market is going to behave and stayed ahead of times.

Believe in being the best, success and money will follow (He believed in Quality):This was his belief and Dhirubhai lived by it. For instance, when he was setting up Reliance Textile he briefed the marketing head clearly: Produce the best textile advertising in the country. He did not breathe a word about profits, nor about cost of such advertising. Great advertising was his goal. He did not dream of making profits as the end result of advertising. His instruction and goal were simple, produce the best advertisement the country has ever seen. So work toward a goal and dont worry about the by product or the end-result. Success in attaining that goal will eventually bring in cash. If we work towards creating a name for our self and earning a good reputation, then money/profit will be the end result. People will pay our product or service if it is good.

Risk Taker (He was decisive, courageous and non conformist):He was known for his risk taking ability. Normally, in management we say Never put all the eggs in one basket. However, he had so much belief in his ability and decisions that he invested his entire earning to purchase huge stock of Polyester Yarn when he started his new business. Everyone around him advised him that it was wrong decision to invest so much money in Polyester; however he was stubborn and knew what he was doing. This decision made him a billionaire today. Great leaders take risk and they believe in their ability.

CONCLUSION:Mr. Dhirubhai never took leadership lessons in school or college, nor did he learn any leadership skills. He developed his own style. Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. He learnt leadership from practice and hands on experience, as well inter-personal exploration and development. His leadership was an Art and he practiced this art with perfection. People have written books on his management style and he is looked upon as a GURU of Management in India. He created his own style of leadership and management, which other follow even today; this clearly establishes the relationship between Leaders and followers. He was a transformational leader and influenced everyone who worked with him. He has provided many budding entrepreneurs hope and inspiration. We have learned from Mr. Dhirubhai that if we have a goal and the will power to achieve it, then nothing is impossible.

References:1. Dhirubhai Ambani : Indian Legends @ muraleedharan.com 2. Great lessons from Dhirubhai Ambani [Archive] - ManagementParadise.com : Your Gateway to Online MBA Degree . Management Students Forum for MBA,BMS, MMS, BMM, BBA, students and aspirants. 3. Dhirubhai Ambani a Real Story from Rags to Riches / Stock Market India / Stock Market News / Stock Recommendations - paisacontrol.com.