The Hindu Business Line : Connect with the captains

"I hate it when people only talk about my wealth. For many years, all the articles would focus only on how much money I had. As though there was nothing else in my life."

How does it feel to be India's richest man with a fortune that is estimated at over $10 billion?" Azim Premji has a short answer to this question of Vir Sanghvi: "Like an animal in a zoo." Premji adds: "I hate it when people only talk about my wealth. For many years, all the articles would focus only on how much money I had. As though there was nothing else in my life."

Hasn't there been the temptation to sell of part of his Wipro stock `to unlock some of the money', the way Infosys' promoters have done? "What would I do with the money?" wonders Premji. "You can't spend so much cash. I would have to invest it in something. And if I am going to invest it, then why not keep it invested in Wipro?"

The collection of profiles of `India's business leaders in candid conversation', offered in Men of Steel (www.oxfordbookstore.com) , begins with Nandan Nilekani of Infosys. Sanghvi speaks of his first impressions of Nandan, decades ago. "He did not say much, never spoke about himself and deflected all serious questions with an easy laugh. But even when he was not participating in a conversation, you always had a sense that he was watching closely... He would always be an observer, watching with dispassionate interest."

Not so now. "He is now much more willing to give of himself... You now know what he thinks... Ask him a question, and he will give you a straight answer," writes Sanghvi.

"My approach to life was too cerebral," confesses Nilekani. "I was told that I was too much of an observer. If I was going to lead an organisation, then I needed to show passion. I needed to allow people to connect with me." A business decision? No, a change of the person too! "I am more willing to engage," declares Nilekani. "I feel more passionately about things. And I'm able to be much more demonstrative than I ever thought was possible."

Meet also Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who would tell you how he had bid for telecom licence in 1991, and how `by 2001 BPL Mobile had become India's largest operator without his having to go to a single politician or pay a single bribe'.

Sanghvi nudges him to revel the details of the June 2005 deal with Essar. "He won't even comment on market speculation that it was around $1.2 billion. He will admit, however, that he is now a very rich man, though his preferred phrasing is, `let's just say that I am now very comfortably off.'"

In a previous chapter is the portrait of Sunil Bharti Mittal. "He denies strenuously that he had ever intended to sell out to SingTel. He does admit that he had planned to enter politics by the time he was fifty - in 2007," narrates Singhvi. But Sunil has changed his plans; he has lost his fascination for politics. "He has seen other business people enter Parliament and does not believe that they have been able to make a significant difference... His conclusion is that he can contribute much more to society by staying out of politics and remaining the master of his own business." Sunil cherishes advice that Christopher Bland, chairman of British Telecom, gave him: "Do yourself a favour. Each time you feel like joining politics, go and take a shower."

A book you may like to skip a shower for.

Presentations don't sell

Most sales call presentations are dreadful. One reason is the presentations are often all about the presenters even as `no customer cares about such puffery'.

Presentations are believed to be powerful in the realm of selling. Alas, presentations don't sell, people sell, says Jeffrey J. Fox in Secrets of Great Rainmakers. For starters, rainmakers are executives who are very successful in bringing in business to their companies or firms, as www.onelook.com defines. In sales, "rainmakers bring in big revenues, big money," explains Fox. "Rainmakers make the cash register ring. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!"

Too many salespeople rely on PowerPoint presentations to make the sale, rues the author. "It is certain that in the near future some PowerPointers will be arrested on felony charges for trying to bore their customers to death." Most sales call presentations are dreadful, says Fox. One reason is that the presentations are often all about the presenters - `their credentials, their company history, their philosophy' - even as `no customer cares about such puffery'.

Time to de-weed the slideshow, therefore!

Touchology trumps technology

Most companies don't trust their employees to be human; They attempt to replicate personal interaction through high-teching their business with technology.

In Tribal Knowledge John Moore presents `business wisdom brewed from the grounds of Starbucks corporate culture'. Tribal knowledge is `an innate language that has never been written, only spoken,' explains the introduction.

The book lists nearly fifty `tribal truths' that are behind Starbucks' success. Tribal truth 24 reads, `Touchology trumps technology'. Starbucks trusts its employees to be themselves when connecting on a personal level with customers. Most companies don't trust their employees to be human; instead, they attempt to replicate personal interaction through high-teching their business with technology, laments Moore.

"Be it loyalty cards to recognise and reward frequent customers, self-service kiosks to increase efficiency, or automated phone systems to facilitate servicing customers, these high-tech methods drive the human equation out of the business transaction."

Starbucks embraces technology only when it enhances the customer experience, as in the case of CD-burning kiosks through Listening Bars. "If the music kiosks and Hear Music coffee bars enhance the experience of enjoying coffee in stores and add to the feeling of community and connectedness, then the technology will have aided the touchology."

Truths to touch base with.

Tailpiece

"Too much music has gone to his head!"

"Evident from persistent head shaking?"

"Also, table tapping, even hours after removing the earphones!"