Dhirubhai Ambani and Reliance
“Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambition higher. Our commitment deeper. And our efforts greater. This is my dream for Reliance and for India.”
- Dhirubhai Ambani.
"The country has lost an iconic proof of what an ordinary Indian fired by the spirit of enterprise and driven by determination, can achieve in his own lifetime. Not only did Ambani build a large and diversified business conglomerate but also inspired many first generation entrepreneurs with his success."”
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister, Republic of India.
"Dhirubhai built an empire that is rock solid and he will always remain an icon."
- Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Vikram Birla Group.
THE DEATH OF AN ICON
The 6th of July 2002 was a black day in the Indian corporate history. The Founder and Chairman of the Reliance group of Industries (Reliance), Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani (Dhirubhai) died after a 13 day battle for survival. A perfect combination of entrepreneurship and leadership, Dhirubhai transformed Reliance from a company with a turnover of Rs 640 million in 1976, to one with a turnover of Rs 620 billion in 2002. Starting with a small textile mill in Naroda, in 1966,Dhirubhai took Reliance into various areas like petrochemicals, polyester filament yarn, oil and gas exploration and production, refining and marketing of petroleum, textiles, power, telecom services, information management and financial services (Refer Exhibit I for Reliance Group of Companies).
Dhirubhai never followed the textbook style of management. Instead, he evolved a unique style, which combined the American style of entrepreneurship, with the Japanese focus on the latest technology. And to this, he added the innate shrewdness of a Gujarati businessman. Analysts feel that he was a perfect manager of time, money and men and exhibited a passion to find solutions to problems.
Dhirubhai started Reliance at a time when most companies in India were owned by the government, and the private players were given step-motherly treatment by the government while offering licenses and permits. Similarly, when most Indian business houses depended on government – owned financial institutions for funds, Dhirubhai raised capital from the public by offering shares of his companies.
BUILDING RELIANCE
Dhirubhai was born on December 28, 1932, to Hirachand Govardhandas Ambani and Jamunaben Hirachand Ambani. He was the middle of five children, three boys and two girls (Refer Exhibit II for the Dhirubhai family tree). His father was a local school teacher in a village called Chorwad in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. After his matriculation in 1949, Dhirubhai left for Aden, (now in Yemen) at the young age of 17. His first job was to fill gas and collect money at a Shell petrol station, earning Rs 300 a month. Within a few years, he rose to the position of a sales manager (Refer Exhibit III for Chronology of Events) in the same company.
Aden, he exported a wide range of commodities to Aden. Aden, being a free port attracted lot of exports.
In the mid 1960s, the Government of India (GoI) introduced an export promotion scheme under which the earnings from the export of rayon fabrics could be used for the import of nylon fiber. This attracted Dhirubhai's attention and he decided to switch from spices to textiles. In 1966, he set up a spinning mill at Naroda 20 kms from Ahmedabad with borrowed funds of Rs 2,80,000 and registered it (Reliance Textile Industries) as a powerloom unit with a paid up capital of Rs 150,000.
Another program, the High Unit Value Scheme introduced by the GoI in 1971 gave tremendous boost to Reliance textiles. The scheme allowed the import of polyester filament yarn against the export of nylon fabrics. RCC was benefited the most from this scheme and its exports constituted more than 60% of exports under this scheme. There were rumors that the scheme was solely devised for Dhirubhai.Dhirubhai strongly denied the allegations saying that Reliance cannot be blamed for taking advantage of the scheme „when others kept their eyes shut.‟
He said “I do not consider myself cleverer than my colleagues in the industry. If there was a very large margin of profit, why did they not take advantage of it?”[1] When the High Unit Value scheme
ended in 1978, Dhirubhai focused his attention on the domestic market. During this time, Reliance Textiles was not a very well known name in the domestic market. His first priority was to establish the Vimal[2]
brand, under which Reliance Textiles sold its fabrics in India. An advertising programme was launched to facilitate its entry into the domestic market. Dhirubhai knew that a strong brand image was crucial for winning the consumer's confidence. To achieve this objective, Reliance tried to emphasize the superior quality of its fabric in all its advertisements. Besides this, Dhirubhai also took steps to develop an efficient distribution system for Vimal as he found that the existing marketing channels were inadequate and inefficient.
However, things were not that easy. When Reliance entered the domestic market, it faced lot of resistance from the traditional cloth merchants, as their loyalties lay with the older mills. Confronted with this situation, Dhirubhai decided to move away from the traditional wholesale trade and open his showrooms to tap new markets. He appointed several agents from non-textile backgrounds for the same.
Dhirubhai adopted the concept of company stores from its main competitor, Bombay Dyeing (Refer Exhibit IV), and pursued it on a grand scale. Dhirubhai toured the entire country intensively, offering franchises to shareholders. Dhirubhai promised that Reliance would provide financial and advertising support. In his search for high volumes, Dhirubhai identified a new market - the non-metro urban segment. By 1980, Reliance fabrics were available all over India through 20 company owned retail outlets, over 1000 franchised outlets, and over 20,000 retail stores.
BACKWARD INTEGRATION
To strengthen his position further, Dhirubhai decided to integrate backwards and produce fibers. He planned to set up a polyester filament yarn (PFY) manufacturing plant at Patalganga[3] . Dhirubhai
started work on the plant in 1981. He wanted to make it a world-class plant equipped with the best machinery and having the best faculties. The technology for the production of PFY was sourced from USA's Du Pont De Nemours[4]. However, Dhirubhai did not want to make Du Pont an equity partner.
He felt that when technology was easily available in the international markets, it was not necessary to enter into a 51 % equity partnership with a foreign company.
In spite of the demand for PFY being 6000 tons per annum (tpa), Dhirubhai built a 10000 tpa plant with a built-in expansion provision of 15000 tpa. However, the demand for PFY declined
considerably after the government‟s decision to reserve PFY for small-scale weavers. As a result, the bigger mills were compelled to use cotton.
By 1983, PYF had become a major revenue earner for Reliance. Dhirubhai continued to add new capacities and upgrade technology. All these efforts facilitated at making Reliance the lowest cost polyester producer in the world. In 1984, Dhirubhai got the license to manufacture purified
terephthalic acid (PTA), one of the chemicals from which PFY and polyester staple fiber (PSF) can be manufactured.
He then integrated sideways manufacturing linear alkyl benzene (LAB) used by detergent
manufacturers, thermoplastics like poly vinyl chloride (PVC), high density poly ethylene (HDPE) and low density poly ethylene (LDPE) used by plastic processors. Gradually, Reliance started
manufacturing petrochemical intermediaries like paraxylene, n-paraffin and mono ethylene glycol (MEG), and ethylene, the basic raw material for all petrochemical bi-products and intermediaries. And finally it entered into production and extraction of oil (Refer Exhibit V for Backward
Integration).
In 1991, Dhirubhai embarked on his most cherished project at Hazira (Gujarat)-to build the largest single multi-feed ethylene cracker plant in the world. The plant produces ethylene (imported so far), propylene to make PP, xylene to make PX, benzene to make LAB. The Jamnagar plant
commissioned in 1999, the world's largest refinery with a capacity of 27 million tonnes per annum, was the single largest investment ever made at a single location in India. Besides the refinery, the plant included India's largest port terminal, fully automated rail-road loading and product dispatch terminal, a 3.5 million tonne tank farm, a 500MW power plant, a 12 mgd sea water desalination plant, a 1000-giga byte IT network, connecting 50 servers and 2,500 terminals with 200 km long optic fibre cables. This plant accounts for over 25% of India's total refining capacity.
The process of expansion revealed Dhirubhai‟s interest in integrating vertically and concentrating on petrochemicals and other downstream products. Some of the characteristic features of the Reliance group were:
(i) Continuous vertical integration;
(a) From synthetic textiles into the manufacture of polyester fibre and filament yarn;
(b) From yarn and fibres to intermediaries like purified terephthalic acid and mono-ethylene glycol; and
(c) Further upstream into basic building blocks like paraxylene;
(ii) Consolidation of internal capabilities generated in this process through related horizontal diversification into petrochemical end-products such as detergent intermediates, for example, linear alkyl benzene (LAB), or thermoplastics like high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR - synthetic rubber) and their intermediates and basic building blocks; and (iii) Efforts to complete this process of integration through investment in an NGL/naphtha cracker and in oil extraction itself.
THE STOCK MARKET ADVENTURE
Dhirubhai‟s biggest contribution to the nation was the development of an equity culture. Having understood the psychology of the Indian capital markets and the mindset of Indian investors, he was instrumental in introducing the equity culture in India. Dhirubhai gave importance to the small investor and his contributions, and by doing so, he involved millions of middle class investors. Reliance went public in 1977 and had its first annual general meeting (AGM) in 1977. Reliance Industries had 58000 investors in 1977. So large was Reliance's investor base that at times executives had to go to small cities, with the share certificates, annual reports and other such correspondence, as personal luggage, and post them locally.
Reliance holds the record for bringing out the single largest domestic issue of more than Rs 21 billion in convertible bonds for Reliance Petroleum in 1993. The market capitalization of Reliance was Rs 1.2 billion in 1980, which rose to Rs. 9.96 billion in 1990, and shot up to 96.2 billion in 1995, making Dhirubhai one of the richest men in the world.
expansion purposes, Dhirubhai opted for a public issue. From 1979 to 1982, Reliance brought out several issues for different purposes like: financing a worsted spinning mill, modernizing its already existing textile mill, financing a PFY plant, and to overcome the bear syndicate crisis respectively.
The 1979 issue of Reliance introduced an innovative financial instrument, the partially convertible debentures. However Dhirubhai found it difficult to get permission from the controller of special issues. Dhirubhai argued that this instrument would give investors a guaranteed return and capital appreciation. He lobbied the government until it accepted the concept. This issue was over
subscribed 6 times and soon convertible debentures (both partial and whole) became instruments of choice. The 1982 issue generated Rs 500 million. It was the biggest issue in those days.
In 1982, Dhirubhai faced threat from a Calcutta based bear syndicate. The bear syndicate sold 1.1 million Reliance shares worth Rs 160 million on March 18, 1982. This was all a part of their shortselling strategy wherein they planned to buy the same shares at a later stage for cheaper rates, making considerable profits. However, the bear syndicate seemed to have undermined Dhirubhai Ambani‟s capabilities.
When the bear syndicate sold Reliance's shares in bulk, Dhirubhai‟s loyal brokers bought back all the shares, which led to an increase in the share price. The buying took place for 3 consecutive days and forced the scrip to go up. For the purpose, a new company called the “Friends of Reliance Association” was registered because according to the then Indian stock market regulations, a company could not buy back its shares. It bought 857,000 shares out of the total 1.1 million shares sold by Reliance.
After this incident, Ambani was only waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on the bear syndicate. The association which bought the shares, sought delivery on 30 April 1982, a Friday.[5]
But as the bear syndicate did not have the shares it asked for more time, which the association refused and demanded a Rs 50 badla[6] charge. The Bombay Stock Exchange had to be closed down
owing to the situation. The exchange authorities tried in vain to bring about a compromise between the two parties. And then began the panic buying of Reliance shares and the share prices soared to an all time high. By May 10th, the crisis ended. Dhirubhai finally succeeded in taming the bulls.
CORPORATE BATTLES OF DHIRUBHAI AMBANI
Despite his unprecedented corporate valour, some corporate bigwigs considered Ambani to be a manipulator. Critics accused him of using the “more than the usual” ways of obtaining licenses, getting quick approvals for public issues and capital goods imports, and of getting policies
formulated in favour of Reliance. Dhirubhai and Reliance were accused of manipulating tariffs to suit their needs and outsmart their rivals. He was considered to be a symbol of all that was wrong with the Indian economy. It is said that Ambani used his connections with key politicians and
bureaucrats to obtain licenses and approvals for projects. He is also said to have induced
government intervention by offering bribes and using other forms of lobbying prevalent in the US. Reliance was known to engage politicians, journalists, and others to increase its sphere of influence. Some businessmen described Reliance as “an out of control monster, a bubble that would burst any moment.”[7
However, not all analysts would agree to that. They felt that Dhirubhai was quick to recognize and exploit opportunities. Dhirubhai believed that “business is nothing but a web of relationships and obligations.” Keeping this principle in mind, Dhirubhai managed to create favourable centers in all the important areas – among the bureaucrats, the ruling politicians, as well as the media. These were the areas where power vested. Dhirubhai was of the opinion that business was not all about ethics and morality; it was about expansion and success. His amazing ability to use the state and its policies to his advantage was responsible for the expansion of Reliance.
Be it licenses, foreign exchanges or quotas, he always succeeded in making the best out of most difficult situations.
Party rule (1977- 1979), Nusli Wadia obtained the permission to build a 60000 tpa di-methyl terephtalate (DMT) plant.
However, before his letter of intent could be converted into a license, the government changed and when the Congress government came to power, his license was being delayed (until 1981) with one pretext or the other. This was the same time when Dhirubhai obtained license to build a PTA plant. Dhirubhai was also contemplating on building a Paraxylene facility. All this infuriated Nusli Wadia and marked the beginning of one of the major battles in the history of Indian business which lasted for several years.
In the 80s, Ramnath Goenka, (Goenka) the proprietor of the Indian Express Group[8] which was into
news publication, had often tried to act as a mediator and solve the conflict between the two corporate giants; but in vain. Goenka backed Nusli Wadia. He considered the latter his son and at times, urged Dhirubhai to bring the rivalry to an end. Even though Dhirubhai promised to do so, he continued his fight with Wadia and Goenka felt betrayed. Soon, Goenka turned against Dhirubhai and launched a series of press campaigns against Reliance.
Goenka always promised Dhirubhai that he would put an end to the campaigns being held against him in the press. But the very next moment, he would scheme another plot against him. The assaults did not stop even when Dhirubhai was hospitalised after his first stroke in 1986. Newspapers, magazines and weekend tabloids continually attacked Dhirubhai. To counter these attacks, a few weeks later, Reliance issued 15 advertisements in leading newspapers of the country including the Indian Express. The advertisements contained key statements like "concern for truth", "allegiance to ethics", and "commitment to growth".
Goenka formulated a fresh assault issuing a statement that Reliance had smuggled extra machines into the country, and therefore had excess built capacity. This resulted in a show cause notice from the customs, and a duty and penalty claim of Rs. 1.19 billion on Reliance. In spite of all these attacks, Dhirubhai never failed to retain public confidence. Slowly, tables started turning against Goenka. In September 1987, there was a nationwide raid on the Express group, and a number of cases were filed against it. Dhirubhai was victorious for once. After Goenka's death in 1991, his son, Vivek Goenka took over. But he did not see much sense in lobbying against Dhirubhai and this brought to an end the big battle.
Reliance Mobile, the new venture of Reliance provides cellular telephony services in 13 Indian states, and Reliance Basic holds the licence to provide fixed line telecom services in the state of Gujarat. With the launch of Reliance Infocomm, Reliance has taken another major step in its continuous search for growth and excellence. It was Dhirubhai's dream to provide information technology and communication facilities to the common man, at affordable prices. The Infocomm revolution will cover thousands of villages across the country by 2003. Reliance Power intends to pursue opportunities in the power sector with an objective to achieve over 10,000 MW in the next decade. With Reliance General Insurance and Reliance Life Insurance, the group has also entered into the insurance sector.
Dhirubhai's entrepreneurial abilities enabled Reliance to progress on the roads to success both in the licensing era as well as in the era of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. He faced the toughest battles with the toughest of politicians and bureaucrats and was eventually successful in gaining a victory over all his political and corporate rivals. His business ideologies have been praised and are being emulated the world over (Refer Exhibit VI, for Management Mantras of Dhirubhai and Exhibit VII for achievements of Dhirubhai).
Right from the time he suffered his first stroke in 1986, Dhirubhai groomed his sons Mukesh and Anil Ambani to take care of the day-to-day operations of Reliance. It was from Dhirubhai that his sons imbibed the quality to think big. Mukesh‟s skills were quite evident from his successful management of the Patalganga and Jamnagar projects and Anil was adept at the finances. Despite their elite education, their most important training came from Dhirubhai. He provided them with a strategic vision.
His sons always considered themselves as co – builders rather than inheritors of Reliance. Dhirubhai‟s words way back in 1993 reflected the immense confidence he restored in his sons, “Reliance can now run without me.” After his demise, Mukesh was appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of the Reliance group while Anil became the Vice Chairman. It remains to be seen whether Reliance will maintain its lead and growth over large multinationals in years to come.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Starting as a small trading firm with a capital of Rs. 15,000 in 1958, Dhirubhai developed Reliance into a Rs. 620 billion company in 2002. Discuss the leadership style and entrepreneurial qualities of Dhirubhai which enabled him to achieve such heights.
2. Risk-taking is one of the most important characteristics of entrepreneurship. Explain how
Dhirubhai‟s risk-taking ability helped Reliance grow as the largest private sector entity in India. Also discuss some specific situations where Dhirubhai took risk.
3. What were the obstacles faced by Dhirubhai in building Reliance and how did he overcome them? Is the criticism levelled against Dhirubhai justifiable?
4. Many studies have revealed that successful leaders/entrepreneurs are well educated and practical people who work hard to achieve their goals. Do you think Dhirubhai had all the qualities that make a successful entrepreneur/leader? What were the most crucial attributes that accounted for
Dhirubhai‟s unparalled success?
RIL was the world's second-largest producer of polyester staple fiber and polyester filament yarn, the third-largest producer of paraxylene, the fourth-largest producer of purified terepthalic acid, and the sixth-largest polypropylene producer. It operates the world's largest grassroots multi-feed cracker at its Hazira petrochemicals complex.
RELIANCE
PETROLEUM LIMITED
RPL is India's largest private company in terms of sales, second only to RIL in terms of profit, net worth and assets. The first refinery to be set up by the private sector in India, RPL is the world's largest grassroots refinery, and the seventh-largest refinery in the world at any single site, having a capacity of 27 million tonnes per annum. The refinery has the technical capability to deliver products of international specifications (even beyond Euro II norms). It is the only refinery in India capable of producing gasoline with less than 1 percent benzene content, and diesel with less than 0.05 percent sulfur content[11].
RELIANCE CAPITAL LIMITED
The company focuses on infrastructural investments and insurance. The company also seeks attractive opportunities in the financial services sector. The company is also into leasing. RCL has invested in areas like power, telecommunications, ports etc. In 2002, RCL also entered the life insurance and general insurance business.
INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED
leasing activities. The company has operations in Surat, the Mumbai-Pune belt and in Jamnagar. The company has so far transported over 16 million metric tons of petroleum products through product pipelines. No failure or leakage has been reported during its 10 years of operations.
RELIANCE POWER
Reliance pursues its interests in the power sector through BSES (Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply).[12]
BSES and its subsidiaries provide electricity services to more than 5 million consumers, covering an estimated population of 45 million. As on March 31, 2002, Reliance was the single largest shareholder in BSES, with an equity stake of nearly 38%, and 2 nominees on the board of directors of the company, out of a total of 9.
EXHIBIT I
RELIANCE GROUP OF COMPANIES contd...
RELIANCE TELECOM
LIMITED
RIL holds a 26 % equity stake in Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL). Incorporated in 1998, RTL provides cellular telephony services in 15 states, 118 cities and towns in India. The company holds a license for providing basic telecom services in the state of Gujarat and the union territories of Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The company has initiated both infrastructure build-up and marketing activities so as to launch commercial services in rural, semi-rural and urban short distance charging areas (SDCAs).
RELIANCE
INFOCOMM.
Reliance Infocomm provides a host of communication services: from restrictive wireline connectivity to the all pervasive wireless technology; from public service telephone network to broadband; from analogue to digital
transmissions; and from plain voice telephony to virtual networks. The company aims to set up a nationwide, world-class broadband communication infrastructure comparable with the best in the world.
Reliance Infocomm plans to start its services in three well defined phases:
The first phase begins in 2003 and aims at providing the Reliance India Mobile service through a nationwide wireless network reaching out to nearly 90% of India's population. The second phase beginning in mid 2003, aims at bringing about enterprise netway revolution, by providing 100 mbps Ethernet links. The final phase begins in end 2003, with the objective of bringing about a consumer convergence revolution, by providing high speed Ethernet links to enlighten every home with an entire range of television channels, high-speed telephony, audio conferencing, videoconferencing and video on demand.
RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE
COMPANY LTD.
RGICL is one of the first non-life insurance companies to get license from IRDA. It is one of the few companies in the private sector, which provides complete insurance solution. The company has a state-of-the-art technology which enables it to fulfill the needs of its insurance customers.
RELIANCE LIFE SCIENCES PRIVATE
LIMITED.
EXHIBIT II
THE AMBANI FAMILY TREE
Source: Businessworld, July 8, 2002
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
YEAR EVENTS
1932 Dhirubhai Ambani was born.
1949 At the age of 17, he went to Aden, and worked for A. Besse & Co., the sole selling distributor of Shell products.
1958 Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India.
1958 Started his first company in Mumbai, Reliance Commercial Corporation, a commodity trading and export house.
1966 Set up a textile mill in Naroda, Ahmedabad - the first step in Reliance's road to success.
1977 Reliance goes public and heralds the equity cult in India.
1989 Floods ravage Patalganga complex.
1991 First plant of the Rs 90 billion Hazira project commissioned. 1992 First ever GDR by an Indian company.
1993 Expansion into plastics and PVC.
1994 Major expansion plannmtpa. ed to triple Hazira petrochemical‟s capacity to 6
Jan,
1994 Chosen 'Businessman of the Year 1993' by Business India.
1994
Awarded the Companion Membership of the Textile Institute, UK, an award which is limited to 50 living members who have "substantially advanced the general interests of the industries based on fibres. 1995 Becomes the first Indian company to report a net profit of Rs 10 billion. 1996 Becomes the first Indian company to be rated by S&P and Moody's.
1997 World's largest multi-feed cracker commissioned in Hazira, first Asian company to raise 100-year debt.
1997 Commences cellular services.
1999 World's largest grassroot refinery commissioned at Jamnagar. 2001 Reliance life sciences incorporated.
2002 RPL merged with RIL.
2002 Wins IPCL through competitive bidding.
6-Jul-02 Dhirubhai Ambani passes away.
Source: www.indiapublicsector.com, July 2002.
EXHIBIT IV
THE BOMBAY DYEING AND MANUFACTURING CO. Ltd
The Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. was set up over 250 years ago by the Wadia family. It was primarily into ship-building activities. It designed and built more than 355 ships for the British Navy. It was on one such ship that the American National Anthem was composed. With the advent of
industrialization in the 19th century, trade grew and with it, opportunities in new areas of business also grew. By 1879, Bombay Dyeing was only next to New Orleans, as the world‟s largest cotton port. This was the time when Nowrosjee Wadia set his sights on India‟s mushrooming textile industry. The company had a modest beginning in a humble red brick shed, where cotton yarn spun in India was dip dyed in three colours – turkey red, green and orange – and laid out in the sun to dry. In the next 115 years, the company became India‟s largest producer of textiles-Bombay Dyeing took the path of growth and diversification.
Bombay Dyeing has two main streams of business. Textile is a dominant activity for which the company has advanced facilities. Each of Bombay Dyeing's five manufacturing facilities is of International standards. Weaving facilities include technology from world leaders such as Sulzer. Bombay Dyeing has 519 Sulzer Projectile Machines in widths of 130", 142", 153" and 169". In addition, the company has 123 Sulzer Airjet Machines in widths of 110"(with tucked in selvedge) and 75" (with fringe selvedge). The Ruti Automatic Looms ranging in widths of 40" to 110" totaling 1,260 are gradually being phased out and substituted by the latest in weaving technology.
EXHIBIT V
BACKWARD INTEGRATION
EXHIBIT VI
MANAGEMENT MANTRAS OF DHIRUBHAI AMBANI
Growth has no limit - keep revising your vision
If you make one grand plan and stick to it without updating it with new inputs, adapting to new forces and adopting new practices, then it is a recipe for disaster. Remember, a goal is worth it only if you get there. And growth is life.
Leap, look, leap
Nurture and motivate the youth
The youth are energetic and brimming with new ideas, and have talent and a desire to excel. Extend them the support they need, nurture them. Each one of them has an infinite source of energy. Create the right environment and they will deliver with glorious returns on investments.
Build competencies
Holding people hostage to core competencies restricts them. It is more productive to create competencies around people and processes to create value. This promotes flexibility, encourages growth and the value add-on will far exceed anything a conventional approach can bring.
Break out of your orbit
The world is a series of hierarchically stacked orbits. To be successful, you have to break out of your orbit and enter the one above. After a spin in that orbit, you must break into the next one and so on till you reach the top. Bet on people -
'trust' is a five letter word for success
Trust is the most valuable thing and it is also the most valuable thing that you can give. There is nothing like partial trust - you either trust completely or not at all. Trust is the foundation of growth.
Reject incremental thinking
Piecemeal, blinkered and incremental thinking guarantees slow and stunted growth. True growth can come only with lateral thinking with multiple options and paths to attain a goal. Always encourage people to think out - of - the - box. Ideas are no ones monopoly.
Be humble
Humility in success is the greatest virtue. Realize that success is a matter of hard work and teamwork - of employees, shareholders and well-wishers. Never let them down and always let them feel they are a part of the family. In turn, they will never let you down.
Shun pretence
A leader is not afraid to say he or she does not know. There is no equitable distribution of knowledge expertise and energy. Do what you can do to acquire knowledge and apply it. Delegate the rest to the best.
Detail. Detail. Detail
God is in the detail. Worship it. There isn‟t a single successful individual enterprise or nation that has succeeded without paying attention to detail. Some will argue and say 'simplify'. I say simplify the process but never forsake detail. Work with determination and perfection and success will follow.
Achievement is history. Look ahead.
This is often the most difficult to achieve but the most crucial for continued success. Any achievement is instant history; it becomes the past as soon as it is achieved. How you build on that achievement decides how far you go.
Source: Economic Times, December 28, 2002
EXHIBIT VII
ACHIEVEMENTS OF DHIRUBHAI AMBANI
YEAR ACHIEVEMENT
June, 1998
Leading business magazine, Business Barons placed Dhirubhai Ambani in its list of 'India's 25 Most Influential Business and Financial Leaders'.
June, 1998 Chosen as „Star of Asia‟ by Business Week, USA.
June, 1998
Awarded the Dean's Medal by the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania for setting an outstanding example of
leadership.
October, 1998 Dhirubhai Ambani is the only Indian industrialist to feature in the 'Business Hall of Fame' in Asiaweek.
Times of India
August, 1999
Placed amongst 'The Power 50 - India's 50 most powerful decision-makers in Politics, Business & Finance', Business Barons.
December,1999 Voted as 'Indian Businessman of the Century' in Business Barons Global Multimedia Poll.
December, 1999
Chosen by the Indian Merchants Chamber as 'An Outstanding Visionary of the 20th Century' in recognition of his unique achievements and contribution in the development of industry and capital markets in India.
January, 2000 India poll. Voted as 'Creator of Wealth of the Century‟ in The Times of
January, 2000
Voted the most admired Indian of the millennium in the field of Business & Economics in 'Legends - A Celebration of Excellence' poll audited by Ernest & Young for Zee Network.
January, 2000
Chosen as one of the three 'makers of equity' by India Today in its special millennium issue '100 People Who Shaped India in the 20th Century'.
March, 2000
Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century' award by FICCI, for his meticulous scripting of one of the most remarkable stories of business endeavor of the 20th Century.
November, 2000
'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation and Chemical Engineering World for his contribution to the growth and development of the Indian chemical industry.
August, 2001 The Economic Times Award for Corporate Excellence and Lifetime Achievement.
