Five business lessons from Lord Ganesha – Times of India

It has been a magical time for the last ten days, so much so that even the relentless rains couldnt dampen the mood of the followers. For over a week, you have seen your office team bouncing in the festivities, missing a day or two in between and regularly leaving the office early. Now, this will finally get concluded tomorrow with a perfect not to be missed finale to the carnival.

Tomorrow is the day the streets will be filled with a sea of followers dancing like no one is watching and forgetting their worries, to the tune of the deafening drums. It may not be announced officially, but the fact is, no one will be in the office tomorrow. And obviously, you cannot be the spoilsport scheduling anything important in the next 24 hours. As everyone from your team leaves one by one, its just you in the empty office. Guess it is time to call it a day till your eye meets one of the miniature divine stone Idol kept on one of the God-fearing teammates desk spaces. The atheist in you questions the big deal with this rockstar God that he is so popular among his peers and converts the otherwise time-bound Mumbai city into a carnival mode for 11 days every year. Trying to make sense and derive learning for the mortal entrepreneurs from Ganesha:

Think big: Ganeshas big head symbolises thinking big and innovation. Similarly, if you as an entrepreneur in your business are solving a big problem, but there is no category under which it falls then you are building something big; hang on! The bigger the problem your business is solving, the more prominent will be the value of the business. For an entrepreneur his big ambition is the fuel to achieve significant success.

Always listen: Ganeshas big ears symbolise the power of listening. It is essential to listen to absorb ideas and facts. With tough times around for entrepreneurs and maybe more such times, negotiating a deal for your business becomes critical. But, negotiation isnt just about saying NO all the time but saying YES at the right time; for that, you have to listen. And maybe it is better not to have the last word in a deal; let the other side say what you wanted to say; just be sure what is said is what you always wanted in the deal.

Be silent: Ganeshas small mouth means to talk less and do more. Be silent unless you dont have anything significant to say. Being off the radar works; ignoring the unwanted noise around you can become the key to your success in the long run. Most startups give more importance to marketing their product than making them more robust. Maybe thats why we see marketing spending on user acquisition by start-ups overpowering user acquisition through product excellence.

Stay focused: Ganeshas small eyes mean never to lose focus. Focus is the most underrated word in business. Ignoring the unwanted noise around you is the key to your focus. You should focus on being right rather than being quick always. Quick decisions may help you grow fast, but slow decisions help you think through the options to avoid failure. Ultimately, without focusing on your future, you end up with your past. And then, when your focus is clear your fear of failing is irrelevant.

Be yourself: Ganeshas belly contains infinite universes. Similarly, you are the by-product of your thoughts, and ultimately life is a search to become the best version of you and the dream you want to create. We all have the light we need within us; we just need to follow it. The only way to being limitless is by pushing your limits every time, and when you are limitless, even the sky isnt enough. You need to be the light that leads, not burns.As the atheist entrepreneur comes back to reality from his thoughts, he sees a smiling face in front of him of his security guard who is waiting for him to leave so the office can be shut. Keeping the stone idol back to where it belongs, he walks out of the exit. Realising that ultimately it is all about doing your karma and ignoring the drama around it, just then he hears a divine voice in confirmation behind him Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Five business lessons from Lord Ganesha - Times of India