mr r u mohinani- deen (2) sunil 15.12.09 (1)

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Zeros to Heroes –series 20

BY

S. Deenadayalan and Vishal Shroff

CEO and Architect – Organizational Capability &Team Leader- OrganizationalDevelopment

Centre for Excellence in Organization, Bangalore

[email protected] , [email protected], www.exploreceo.com

mailto:[email protected],%[email protected]

http://www.exploreceo.com/

mailto:[email protected],%[email protected]

http://www.exploreceo.com/



Excelled when Exiled.

There are several legends of the integrated India – Prior to the Partition – whobecame refugees – or those that ran for their lives or were forced to exit from theirhome land post partition. Indian by Heart, born in the ex Indian Territory (nowcalled Pakistan) and became suddenly unwanted. Yes, in the Sindh province - partof it in Pakistan and the rest in India- people went through turbulence and turmoil.Many such people migrated out of their homeland – & went as paupers to thevaried parts of the world – Europe, Africa, Mauritius, India, Malaysia, Indonesia ,Gulf Countries – and every migrant who went out as a pauper are prosperous todaywith India still very much in their heart.

Sri Ramachand Mohinani

As he is nearing his eighty - With Ghana as his domain, and still spending at leastthree months of the year in India – It’s with pride that we are sharing the LIFEstorey of this evergreen youngster. Born in the Hyderabad city of the Sindhprovince, erstwhile a famous city of undivided India, Sri Mohinani just completedhis primary education. Our Nation divided when he was at that early stage of hislife. His father had been facing health issues right from his childhood and passedaway when Sri Mohinani was at a tender age of 11. Sri Mohinani, along with hisfamily relocated to Coimbatore from Hyderabad (in Pakistan now). Relocation wasas painful to him as it was to various communities migrating from Pakistan.

Coimbatore Life (Bi) CycleHe studied in Coimbatore from 1948 to 1954. During this period his elder brotherused to support the family from his earnings of Rs. 100 a month by working withthe Royal Army. After attending school everyday from 8 am to 2 pm Sri Mohinaniused to sell saris on a bicycle to villages around Coimbatore. Also he worked invarious textile shops as a part timer, but realised that it was not sufficient tosupport his family and neither would he get the growth that he aspired for. For theextensive distance covered on his bike , his part time income was only about Rs. 30– 40 a month from which his school fees of about Rs. 5 needed to be paid , afterwhich his remaining went to contribute towards the support of his mother andsister . The existence was a hand to mouth one.



Sojourn to West Africa

In 1954, a relative based in Ghana offered him a role as salesman, where the Rupeess 80 salary

was attractive in comparison to his Indian job and he soon emigrated out there.

Yes – without a privileged education, getting an adequate job wasn’t easy & survival was

essential – and he diligently took up the task and decided to take the challenge and move out to

Ghana, which was underdeveloped at that time.

Dis-comfort zone – route to excellence

To Sri Mohinani, an unknown place be it Coimbatore or Ghana - had triggered the discomfort

zone to build his net work – to understand new communities, preserve his lineage and culture &

family bonds. His mother and sister had stayed back in Coimbatore due to affordability and he

would send a princely sum of Rs 50 to them every month. Thrown into the deep end, he had to

learn to swim and quickly got a grip of business opportunities & fundamentals, such as

accounting. Today, many a chartered accountant could learn a lesson or two from him on fundmanagement. . In this new environment he was forced to swim and practically experience and

learn business management principles such as Pricing Strategies, Market knowledge, Vendors &

leveraging Client net works.

PIP model and concept of “OPM”

In 1960, he was offered a role as a working partner in a leading trading group over there. This

opportunity enabled him to draw on his terrain experience & entrepreneurial skills , His new

employee and him both visualised a Partner in Progress model along with the concept of OPM

(Other people’s money) being used to create value for all stakeholders . This new role also provided him with the opportunity for him to get married and his wife to join him

Working Partner to Business Leader and Entrepreneur

1964 was a difficult year politically in Ghana and his company was losing money, especially

with the break down in law and order following a military coup. He therefore moved to Sierra

Leone where he had a brother staying and established a Garments factory in partnership with

some friends. The Sierra Leonese government was not supportive of industry at that time and he

lost a sizeable amount before deciding to move back to Ghana, by which time the situation had

improved considerably. With 8000 Sterling pounds left, Sri Mohinani moved back to Ghana and

established a plastics manufacturing factory. He was supported with further capital requirements

by his previous employer as well as friends and well wishers from the wider Sindi community

overseas . His choice of industry - Plastic – was a high growth one , as it was rapidly replacing

metal and other materials . This early mover advantage enabled him to capitalise on this by

scaling up his business into different segments and eventually being present in the flexibles,

rigids, paper, sacks, and tank segments. The high reputation and value sets enabled him to

attract leading accounts such as Unilever, Cadbury, & Coca-cola, amongst other. Today, his

manufacturing operations known as the PolyGroup, with key branded products such as

PolyTank, are a household name.



Sons of the Soil (including his children)

He earned enough trust from the locals, and became an Employer of Choice as he gained the

love and respect of employees and the local community.

Sri Mohinani is blessed with 3 sons, all married and 7 grandchildren. He has afforded the

Western higher education on them as he firmly believes in it as an investment for their future,

and all 3 studied at reputable academic institutions prior to joining the family business. Whilst

he has left the day to day running of the business to his children and professional executives, Sri

Mohinani keeps a close eye on all the units by travelling to their various locations on a frequent

basis, as well as sitting on the various company boards and all key decisions still require his

blessings in his role as Chairman of the Group. He continues to profess the merits of a joint

family business and advocates education on the subject to ensure a likelihood of continues of

the joint entity through multiple generations. As an elderly community member, his value sets,

ethical code of conduct and respect for Indian culture make him a goodwill Ambassador for our

country. His wife dedicatedly supports him and accompanies him on his frequent trips whichusually include a gruelling schedule.

Nigeria and Ghana – running a business is not easy

Any developing country in the growth phase goes through pains of positivity and negativity.

Ghana and more so Nigeria has posed several of these in the past, such as security, health and

safety hazards etc. Sri Mohinani has managed, through benevolence and being an employer of

choice to plough through such negativities and maintained his commitment and growth in these

countries. Sri Mohinani is a great believer in the countries he has a presence, and has

contributed to the socio-economic development of the country by participating in policy forumsas well as by his philanthropic support of education and medicine.

Survival of the fittest – Managing difficulties

During the turbulent 1979 – 1981 era of military rule in Ghana, control pricing mechanisms

were introduced and created a huge crisis for import dependent businesses such as Sri

Mohinani’s. His inability to absorb selling prices significantly below cost enabled the

government to temporarily seal his operations. However, through strong belief in justice

and the court of law as well as persistence, the restraining order on his business was

removed.

Today, with the help of his sons, the Group activities encompass manufacturing in plastics

and packaging, as well as trade and distribution in Consumer Durables & Chemicals

Choose your people for Attitude and not for skill

Sri Mohinani believes that qualifications are not the most important aspects of an employee -

but more so, character and attitude. He has a number of Indian expatriate managers along with

local talent in various key positions across his group. HR managers who use varied instruments

to measure IQ/EQ should learn from his common sense quotient for he has employed more than5000 people across globe.



Mohinani’s Mantra of success

As of date the group has operations across the geography of West Africa, East Africa, India, the

UK and China. Awards received include that off “Business Excellence Award” for the World

Packaging Institute as well as by several local private sector and governmental organisations.

Whilst never having read the book – “Blue Ocean Strategy” – his natural instinctive

entrepreneurial skills have frequently enabled him to pick out niche businesses in developing

countries, and this is a great lesson one can pick up from him. His logic of “the higher the

numbers of constraints you face higher are the opportunities for one’s growth” can serve as

a wonderful reference to young students. As a firm believer in working within ones means , he

has resisted the temptation to over extend the business and finances and takes great importance

to honouring creditors on a timely basis – a value set he preaches continuously to all his

children and executives . As he nears his Eighties, his belief in Work as worship inspires him to

attend the office daily, after his morning prayers. Sri Mohinani also enjoys swimming and walks

for 45 minutes every day and swims at least four times a week. Listening and seeking ideasdemocratically from every one and converting them in to doable business are his strength and he

is a mentor for his children.

Social Citizenry

Sri Mohinani believes in the virtue of silent charity and chooses to remain discreet about his

philanthropy, although there is mention of an education, medical and helping the aged in Ghana

and India.

mr r u mohinani- deen (2) sunil 15.12.09 (1)

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