Management lessons from the 'Bollywood' movie - 'Aaja Nachle' - (Come Dance)

I was reminiscing about a nice movie I had seen a couple of years back and surprisingly my mind started to make connections between this movie and how to run a successful business. The movie was a Madhuri Dixit starrer “Aaja Nachle” (Literally – Come and Dance). It’s always good to share a good thing, so here I have discussed these lessons for you to read and draw inspiration. So read on to learn the Management lessons from a Bollywood Movie.

1.    Pick up Skills, they never let you down: In the movie a young Madhuri learns to dance gracefully and beautifully and this helps her in later life, when as a single mother in a distant country she is in need of money. She translates her dancing skills into a successful dancing troupe and aerobics training institute.

2.    Every challenge should be treated as an opportunity: Instead of being overwhelmed by the challenges thrown at her, the protagonist takes it as an opportunity. The town which has no interest in Dance and Drama is seen by her as a town full of an appreciative audience but it does not stop at that; she actually manages to even source talent from the same townspeople. This would not have happened had she not treated the challenges as opportunities and nothing else.

3.    Hiring inexperienced staff is a good thing: Madhuri recruits actors and actresses from the town. These are people who have never acted or danced in their entire life. But the passion and energy brought by these inexperienced staff will do wonders for your business. Especially when you are starting up and can’t afford to pay big bucks, fresh candidates are affordable but choose wisely. Be sure the passion is there, even if the talent cannot be seen. After many rejections Madhuri finally places her trust in Konkana although she seems to be a terrible actor. Because of her passion and the right motivation Konkana transforms from a TomBoy to a completely graceful perfect image of “Laila” (That’s Juliet for the Shakespearean readers)

4.    Let your confidence show: You have complete confidence in your idea, your project or whatever it is that you want to achieve. It’s not enough to have this confidence; you have to let your team see that confidence. When they see your confidence, they not only feel it; they share it. They develop confidence in the project and that makes them give more than their 100% efforts to the venture. Also, let the world see your confidence, especially your detractors. Your confidence will unnerve them and they will take steps which may reduce their supporters. Like in the movie, Madhuri’s confidence makes her detractor (the local businessman) take some actions by which he ultimately loses the support of even his own wife.

5.    And the biggest lesson is Madhuri Dixit, the actress herself: Once at the top of the Box Office list, Madhuri left the entertainment industry to get married and become a wonderful wife and mother. She did not multi-task, no juggling of fame and family for this great lady. And when things were settled at home, kids had grown, this was the movie she chose for her Grand Come-back Launch. And the years away from the industry were wiped away in an instant. The poise, the grace, the faultless acting and dancing, the beautifully sculpted self, all there. Translating this to the lesson: Even if you have to take a sabbatical; don’t lose focus of your ultimate goals. Remain connected with these goals and make sure you don’t get rusty. You never know when the opportunity to re-launch will present itself.

So next time you are watching the latest blockbuster, don’t let anyone tell you “you’re wasting time”, just tell them you are sitting for a management class.

And please do leave your comments on this article.... I write with the intention of starting a Conversation, and it is really not considered healthy to keep talking all alone.... So DEAR READER, get involved, talk to me, it will be fun...

Author: Shabbir Bandukwala - All copyrights reserved

Connect with me on www.GoMadinc.com/ShabbirBandukwala

NOTE: This blog was earlier published on www.GoMadideas.com about a year back.

Set A Reminder

I had to do something at work. It was important, but had to be done later after certain other events. By the time the other stuff was in place, I forgot this task.

Do you know how stupid you feel when you have to tell your Boss, “umm… sorry I forgot about that.” And you feel even stupider (yes stupidity comes in various levels…) when you are a senior member of the team!! I never want to feel that way again. And I am sure neither do you. So, how does one save himself from this situation?

Well it’s fairly simple really. Set A Reminder dude!! (or dudette!!)

In today’s world, where our lives are filled with technology, it is actually criminal to forget anything. The most basic mobile phone comes with a feature where you can set a reminder for a task, a meeting, an appointment or to pay your bills. And today most of us carry smartphones, with access to many features that make it easy to write small ‘forget this not’ notes to ourselves.

It is said that the easiest way to remember your wife/girlfriends birthday is to forget it once.

Well, NOT true. Instead, develop a habit to set reminders for everything that you have to remember later and you will not find yourself in an embarrassing situation. And to tell you the truth, the embarrassment, the shame, these feelings come from within. It is not your boss or colleague or family or friend who is making you ashamed. No sir. It is your mind that is making you feel that way.

And the best way to feel good about yourself, even proud is to never give an opportunity to your mind to generate negative feelings about yourself.

So how do you actually set reminders? Well as I said, with Smartphones, that’s an easy task. And we at GoMad ideas are lucky to be issued the latest and technologically superior Apple iPhones. These are voice enabled. Just raise the phone to your ear and say out aloud whatever it is that you want to be reminded of. ‘SIRI’ will ask you when you want to be reminded about that. And done.

Also if there are annual events like birthdays and anniversaries which you need to be reminded about every year, it’s a good idea to set up an account with one of the many websites which will send you a reminder before the day. Personally I use Birthdayalarm.com and it’s always a pleasure to call up friends and wish them on their birthday which really surprises them and flusters them too… (as they never remember my birthday…)

So follow this advice religiously. Start now and set reminders for all tasks, activities, meetings, your child’s little league matches or the school play. And don’t forget to set a reminder to visit this blog regularly. You never know what you may learn, next time around.

Shabbir Bandukwala

www.GoMadinc.com/ShabbirBandukwala

NOTE: This blog was earlier published on www.GoMadideas.com about a year back.

School vacations ignites childhood memories @ Brindavan Soc.

School vacations have begun. We are planning to spend the summer in Dubai, but I still took a trip down memory lane.

School vacations in India were something else. More so in our time; these days, kids vacations are somewhat different. More clinical if you understand what I mean. Mostly playing with gadgets or travelling to ‘phoren’ lands.

Could be that the housing society which was my home during my childhood, was unique. Some great people lived there (most still do, but others like me are settled all over the world.) And growing up in “Brindavan Society” I think was the best part of childhood.

The chikoo and mango trees, the slides and see-saws, and how many remember the handle bars behind the club house? The club house cum office was also used for Exercise (Oh I still have the abs I worked up there, I hide them under the fat…J) and how can I forget the table tennis games. Cyrus used to play me with his left hand and still win. I think he should have tried for the Olympics.

Dabba eise pyse, marbles, and the amazing Dracula stories that I and my bro used to tell. We loved to scare with these stories, but I guess we did not come close to the horror one feels when you reach for your pocket and don’t feel your phone there… LOL

And then comes the sports day. Slow cycling was my favourite. And ‘Baldeet chendu takne’ (throwing the ball in the bucket). And was it Deepali or have I got the name wrong, she used to win the Skipping championship.

Vacations meant jogging and cycling with my buddy Salil. We used to wake up pretty early, wear our shorts and sneakers and go jogging around the neighbourhood. As we entered college, we expanded that to going to a Gym somewhere in Jogeshwari.

The cricket matches in the society were just awesome too. Well they come a little down-hill in my memory lane, only becoz I wasn’t that good at cricket. I enjoyed Hockey and Football. Those were fun. Especially playing in the rains, sliding in the mud to make that winning goal.

Although all the people in my childhood are stars in their own way, one of them happens to be a Bollywood star today. He lived in Jumbo Darshan, a society opposite ours. My school friend Smarty used to stay there. And I used to play with his gang too. One of them was John Abraham, a very polite and well-mannered boy; he had these cute dimples which made his smile quite striking. His father was in the gulf, and he had some of the best toys. We used to borrow his tennis rackets and play in the parking. Even in those days he had the best bike in the neighbourhood. A BMX bicycle.

Festivals were fully enjoyed with lots of energy, Holi and Diwali were the noisiest. Satyanarayan pooja brought in a flavour of spirituality whilst Eid meant shirkhumma at home.

Sankranti would be enjoyed with lots of fun, with ‘tilgul gya godh godh bola’ (eat a sweet and speak sweet always)

Many more memories than can be captured in a blog article, I wish my kids could have also grown up there and known the same great families that I grew up with.

But life moves on, and I hope years later when their kids are on vacation, they will also get nostalgic and remember their childhood with the same pleasure like me.

Hey readers, do share your own vacation/growing up memories, especially those of you who grew up with me.

Let’s keep the conversation rolling…

Shabbir Bandukwala

www.GoMadinc.com/ShabbirBandukwala

Do what you love!!

Even though a man’s job is likened to having a second wife, there is a huge difference between a wife and a job. In many customs where arranged marriages are still prevalent, a man can and does fall in love with the woman he marries much after the actual wedding. But if you are not doing what you love, you are hardly going to ‘fall in love’ with your job.

In-fact chances are you will slip into a routine. Filling the hours at work, getting increasingly disgruntled with your job and yourself each passing day. This is bad for you and bad for the business. Plus it has a detrimental effect on all your other relationships, personal or otherwise. I mean let’s face it, if you are unhappy, you are going to rub that off on your colleagues and immediate family. And a lot of good that will do.

So how do you get out of this rut? It’s after all not very easy to give up the current job and start doing something you have always wanted to do. It’s all the more difficult in the current economic environment.

Wrong. Think again!

Downturn and recession is actually a great time to venture out into something new. You and your family are already adjusted to lower incomes and difficult times. Yes changing career or becoming an entrepreneur at this time is challenging but is easier to adapt to this change and overcome the challenge in difficult times rather than in good times when you would be used to a lavish or at-least more than comfortable lifestyle.

It's easier to start a business than look for a job at the start of a recession. People still buy things, but companies are reluctant to take on the cost of an employee when revenue prospects are uncertain. Let us see which companies were launched during recessionary times:

Burger King was launched in 1954 during the recession which started in July 1953 and lasted 10 months.

General Electric Co. (GE) was established in 1876 by world renowned inventor Thomas Edison. Amidst the panic of 1873, a six-year recession, Edison created one of the best-known inventions of all time — the incandescent light bulb.

And Hewlett Packard (HP) was started in a Palo Alto garage at the end of the Great Depression

And certainly great things are expected from GoMad ideas, started in recessionary times in Dubai, a city doubly hit with the property bubble burst and the global slowdown.

Watch this space....

Written by Shabbir Bandukwala - First published on www.GoMadideas.com on Feb 25, 2012

www.GoMadideas.com/ShabbirBandukwala