WHENEVER
I find a little time at my city railway station
while waiting to receive somebody,
I make it a point to spend that time
near the railway parcel office.
There is this guy
(Management guru)
in his late forties
who works as an unofficial agent
for handling railway parcel goods both coming in and going out.
I have been observing this character
for the last eight years
and I wonder with
what alacrity he manages the show.
He is a school dropout,
wears a rustic look and is a down-to-earth person.
He possesses all the characteristics
of a corporate CEO.
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He has five to six loyal chaps to assist him,
a fleet of autos and trolley rickshaws
for transporting goods.
I do not know
the personal chemistry between him and his staff,
but all of them are very loyal to him.
He knows his job thoroughly
— he can make out the contents of a parcel,
its destination, its value and its tax component.
No parcel can come in or go out at the station
without his knowledge.
No parcel is ever misplaced, lost or wrongly delivered.
Nobody has ever complained about his service.
He collects his commission also with equal ease.
His information network is one of the best
I have ever seen.
Apart from his own trade,
he keeps the latest information from
all around the world like the US presidential election
to capitation fee of a particular engineering college.
He maintains an excellent rapport with
all government departments relating to his trade.
He keeps the local musclemen in good humour
for the smooth flow of his trade and to keep rivals at bay.
He has a positive frame of mind,
full of energy and vigour with new ideas to solve problems.
He has a good sense of humour as well.
Overall,
he is a good soul,
helpful and highly religious.
He observes all pujas and festivals
with utmost sincerity.
He will go on lecturing on religious topics.
No one will return without having a cup of tea with him.
If a known person happens to board a train,
he will see that the person
is comfortably seated in the train.
He will give a bottle of mineral water
and some eatables for the journey without fail.
Similarly,
if he happens to see
an acquaintance alighting from the train,
he will ensure that the person reaches home safely
in one of his autorickshaws.
He donates money generously
to temples, pujas and charity,
which is quite akin to corporate social responsibility.
By doing all these he has earned
a lot of goodwill from the people around.
Therefore whenever he is in need,
help automatically reaches him.
I often wonder that here is a person without
any formal education who is able to develop
a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving,
sustaining and maximising business success.
He has achieved with his simple management tricks
what an IIM educated manager will find difficult to achieve.
He tells the story of his life
— his path from rags to riches after taking a couple of drinks.
He has shown that
real leadership
is not about prestige, power or status.
It is about responsibility.
There is a lot to learn from this
ever happy and smiling management guru.
