Yesterday morning, the dead body of the celebrated entrepreneur and technology investor, VG Siddhartha was found in the Netravati river, off Mangalore, in Karnataka.
VG Siddhartha had all the check boxes that have been described for one to be successful in life and business.
He was diversified - his billion dollar empire spread over coffee production, cafe chains and IT. He knew scaling - 2100+ stores of his brand Cafe Coffee Day is witness to this.
He was humble - was known to accompany his friends to the elevator after a meeting with them. He was focussed - shied away from interviews and spent time 'doing' rather than 'showing'. He was a family man - he has two sons and attended family functions.
And yet, in his words, he failed.
Some are blaming the business environment, some the tax authorities and others have their own theories. However, what cannot be ignored is that this seemingly massively successful man had a storm stirring behind his calm demeanour.
What can we learn from this?
If you are an entrepreneur, know that you are contributing directly and indirectly to the lives of people and never be sorry for failure. You started off with good intention but sometimes things can go wrong and will be a bumpy ride. Recall the dark times that you have surpassed and emerged in the light and no matter how dismal it may seem, you will recover. You chose this path and you have the power, will and capacity to own it till the end.
If you are the family or friend of the entrepreneur, please support them. They may not show it but they are insecure due to the unpredictability of the future of their venture. They might not be earning enough revenue, debt might be mounting or salaries are due, however, if they have your mental support, they can sail through this. Don't let their smiles fool you, they are salesmen. Dig deeper and understand them.
If you are a person, please be a good one. Even after VG Siddhartha is gone, people are coming together to talk, not about his business or wealth or success, but about how good a person he was and how he made them humane.
Adieu VG Siddhartha! Rest in peace.
Tailpiece.
1. Our coconut palm has yielded for the first time and Lekha had vowed that the first fruit would be placed as an offering to Guruvayoorappan. Of the six, a tender coconut was plucked by our gardener, Ramesh and Lekha went, soon after, for an evening 'darshan' to give the offering.
Actually, there was an old coconut palm that was existent when we'd bought the house in Nov '09 but it, along with a Guava tree, had to be cut off to put the truss work over the garage. My instruction to the contractor, then, was to plant samplings of the same variety. I remember, I was at a meeting then and was irritated with the call! It is the new coconut palm that has yielded now.
2. My cellphone has still not come on line despite the fact that the 'sim swap' took place at 1715 hrs with the promise by the front office that it would get active within an hour. In utter angst and disgust, I've asked one of their senior executives three questions viz.:-
(a) When will my phone be operational?
(b) What happens to the loss of service for the last four days? And I ain't even talking about the
angst that it has caused me!
(c) Why is it happening time and again? I'd changed my sim only a few months back - under a year
if my memory serves me right. You're yet to give me an answer for that question of mine that
I'd asked last time.
And mind you this service provider claims, through its advertisements, that it's the best and the most efficient in the field. I can't help but laugh at such a falsehood.
VG Siddhartha had all the check boxes that have been described for one to be successful in life and business.
He was diversified - his billion dollar empire spread over coffee production, cafe chains and IT. He knew scaling - 2100+ stores of his brand Cafe Coffee Day is witness to this.
He was humble - was known to accompany his friends to the elevator after a meeting with them. He was focussed - shied away from interviews and spent time 'doing' rather than 'showing'. He was a family man - he has two sons and attended family functions.
And yet, in his words, he failed.
Some are blaming the business environment, some the tax authorities and others have their own theories. However, what cannot be ignored is that this seemingly massively successful man had a storm stirring behind his calm demeanour.
What can we learn from this?
If you are an entrepreneur, know that you are contributing directly and indirectly to the lives of people and never be sorry for failure. You started off with good intention but sometimes things can go wrong and will be a bumpy ride. Recall the dark times that you have surpassed and emerged in the light and no matter how dismal it may seem, you will recover. You chose this path and you have the power, will and capacity to own it till the end.
If you are the family or friend of the entrepreneur, please support them. They may not show it but they are insecure due to the unpredictability of the future of their venture. They might not be earning enough revenue, debt might be mounting or salaries are due, however, if they have your mental support, they can sail through this. Don't let their smiles fool you, they are salesmen. Dig deeper and understand them.
If you are a person, please be a good one. Even after VG Siddhartha is gone, people are coming together to talk, not about his business or wealth or success, but about how good a person he was and how he made them humane.
Adieu VG Siddhartha! Rest in peace.
Tailpiece.
1. Our coconut palm has yielded for the first time and Lekha had vowed that the first fruit would be placed as an offering to Guruvayoorappan. Of the six, a tender coconut was plucked by our gardener, Ramesh and Lekha went, soon after, for an evening 'darshan' to give the offering.
Actually, there was an old coconut palm that was existent when we'd bought the house in Nov '09 but it, along with a Guava tree, had to be cut off to put the truss work over the garage. My instruction to the contractor, then, was to plant samplings of the same variety. I remember, I was at a meeting then and was irritated with the call! It is the new coconut palm that has yielded now.
2. My cellphone has still not come on line despite the fact that the 'sim swap' took place at 1715 hrs with the promise by the front office that it would get active within an hour. In utter angst and disgust, I've asked one of their senior executives three questions viz.:-
(a) When will my phone be operational?
(b) What happens to the loss of service for the last four days? And I ain't even talking about the
angst that it has caused me!
(c) Why is it happening time and again? I'd changed my sim only a few months back - under a year
if my memory serves me right. You're yet to give me an answer for that question of mine that
I'd asked last time.
And mind you this service provider claims, through its advertisements, that it's the best and the most efficient in the field. I can't help but laugh at such a falsehood.
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