the business lessons i learnt from my gardening hobby lesso… · the business lessons i learnt...

The business lessons I learnt from my

gardening hobby

(Version 2.0)

Mak Pandit

mak@technowrites.com

(c) 2014, Mak Pandit2

About this session

How it all started

The thought process and the evidence

Lessons learnt

Exercises

Summary

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How it all started

We constructed a new bungalow in 1996

We decided to dedicate some area to garden

I spent a lot of time and other resources for gardening

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The thought process

As the involvement grew, I started relating

the gardening experiences to my business

I started thinking whether my garden can

actually work as my tiny little R&D Lab

Like trees, human beings too are a part of

nature

Most laws of nature apply to human beings

as well

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The evidence

As the plants in the garden grew I tested my

hypothesis on them

Surprised and motivated by the success, I

started reverse-thinking, and applying the

lessons learnt to the business…and…it

worked!

The trial and error continues…

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The lessons

Before I start let me mention that all these

photos are real and hence not very

picturesque

They look like an agricultural college

compound or a typical household garden;

and not like Vrindavan Garden

So here goes…

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Good soil is a must

For a business, good working environment is a

must. Else your team members will not grow.

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Some unwanted plants may also take root and consume the resources

Dig out the unwanted ideas and focus on the

desired ones

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Keep distance between plants. Give them space to grow

Give your team members space to grow

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Invest in short and long-termreturns

Some plants will bear fruits or flowers quickly, while there are some that take years (often generations) before they can bear fruit.

A company needs to invest in a mix ofproducts or services. Some of them will giveyou returns quickly and keep you inbusiness. Others will take a lot of time. Butwhen they start delivering it is enough tosustain the organization.

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Some plants need direct sunlight, some can’t bear it

Some people are good

at managing customers

Some are good at

developing products

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Some plants bear flowers, some bear fruits, some both!

In an organization you need a team who can do different things

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Some plants can sustain themselves after a while, but you still need to monitor them

If someone starts performing, you may feel that that person/unit can now do everything on its own.

But continuous monitoring and experimentation has to go on.

Though it is tedious work, your total output can double, with proper monitoring and management of resources.

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Plants also need water, minerals, support, and sunlight

People and products may have different requirements of money, support, motivation, and so on.

You need to continuously invest in training and other activities.

If people become complacent, their productivity will be affected.

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Plants need to be sprayed with drugs and medicines regularly

People may be

infected with negative

ideas.

They need to be

motivated all the time.

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Plants shed leaves regularly. Every year it is a new plant. But the roots remain the same.

We need to develop our skills and adopt to

the changes in environment.

Our values need not change.

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The garden becomes a complete ecology one day…

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…it is not yours anymore, you simply become a part of it!

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Closing Thought

In his book “The High Performance

Entrepreneur” Subrato Bagchi said,

“Building a company is not planting a

giant tree. It is about creating an entire

forest someday.”

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Questions?

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Summary…

Good working environment is a must.

Give people challenges to overcome, opportunities to grow and freedom (space) to work.

Focus on the mission, do not waste time and resources in unrelated activities. The opportunity cost of wasted resources is very high.

Invest in short and long-term returns.

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Summary…

Identify strengths and weaknesses of your team

members and allocate roles based on that.

Invest in a bundle of products, services, people.

People need resources to do their job, only paying

them is not sufficient. Give them training and

resources required.

Motivate your team members to keep their minds free of negative thoughts.

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Summary…

Your business will grow to become the life and shelter for so many others. It will not belong to you. You will belong to it. These are signs of success.

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Interesting statistics…

Technical Writers have rated the following as triggers for changing jobs

Higher responsibilities – 50%

Better workplace – 44%

More convenient geographic location – 44%

Bigger size organization – 50%

More challenging technologies – 41%

More advanced TC Tools – 50%

(STC India 2007 Salary Survey)

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Thank you!

Feel free to write to me

I will soon be hosting a video of this presentation on YouTube. I can share link of the video.

Mak Pandit

mak@technowrites.com