Mayank Pratap — February 25, 2020 Tapping the Essence of Our Cultural Basics
They say “The deeper the roots, the greater the fruits”. I couldn’t agree more! With the newer innovations that are re-shaping the world of entrepreneurship, the teachings that our rich culture carry in store for us are getting sidelined. Entrepreneurship is more than just running an enterprise and providing jobs. The journey of an entrepreneur involves taking care of the people who work for you and with you as one family. There are several lessons that our fascinating cultural heritage teaches us. India is a land of various cultures comprising many different traditions with unique peculiarities. Be it any shortcoming, if we try to figure out a cultural analogy to it, we would be able to come up with numerous solutions to confront any testing times.
One does not necessarily need to attend prestigious B-schools and have impressive portfolios to become a flourishing entrepreneur.
A robust connection with your cultural roots can help you become a great leader, a prosperous entrepreneur and a much better human being. The more one understands the essential ground basics of one’s culture, the more he can connect with different situations, analyze, plan and then execute a strategy, accordingly.
Applying the Tubewell & Water Pipes Analogy
I was fortunate to have learned some essential entrepreneurship creeds from my grandfather in my childhood. While strolling around in our farms, he used to teach me the vital rudiments of good farming. Today, as I look back, I believe that his teachings were not just farming-centric but the cornerstones for any occupation. He used to talk about how an efficient farmer just needed a tubewell and a well-connected network of water pipes to irrigate as many farms as possible. He used to emphasize equally on getting high-quality water pipes and constant routine check-ups for any leakages in them. This is one of the most commonly neglected aspects of farming. After I started my entrepreneurial voyage, I reconnected with his teachings and my cultural roots to discern the gravity of my entrepreneurial voyage.
Connecting the Dots to Pick Up & Soar High
When I try to apply his teachings in my organization, I can easily connect the dots and use such analogies to my advantage. Most farmers pay more attention to the harvest than maintaining the resources that help in producing a good harvest. Similarly, modern-day entrepreneurs pay more attention to attaining high revenue rather than hiring quality based resources and taking care of them on a long term basis. My grandfather used to zero in on the relevance of a robust tubewell-pipe network. He used to say that if you have a good tubewell-pipe network, you can always replicate it and expand the network over large farmland. Similarly, in today’s day and age, if entrepreneurs pay attention to structuring a robust business model and give equal importance to the people who work for them with a feeling of oneness and integrity, success is undoubtedly guaranteed.
Since the time I started to value my employees as the crucial pillars of my enterprise, my team members became my greatest strength.
Each team member comes with his uniqueness and brings value to the organization. By recollecting the conversations that my grandfather and I used to have in my childhood, I constantly try to find learnings from what he spoke. This enabled me to interpret his words and pay more attention to keeping a check on how each of my team members is doing in life. This has not just helped the team to become closer to each other but also instilled a sense of trust within the team. Such a milieu quite naturally fosters a sense of commitment and loyalty and hence, it ensures the long term success of the enterprise – in the long run.
We do not just think of the growth of our organization, but we also care about the growth of each employee individually.
Empower Yourself with Your Rich Cultural Heritage!
Taking the best out of the offerings from our cultural heritage provided by our family and society is the key to step into the path of a roaring entrepreneurial journey. Additionally, the faith and upbringing of a person also play a major role in shaping the entrepreneurial acumen of a person. Hence, when you try to look around your surroundings and in your society with an intent to learn, you’ll be able to easily connect to the core cultural roots that are imbibed within you. Once you start to look for learning in the minutest of the processes that your culture has to offer, you’ll be surprised at the amount of learning you can get just by mere observation.
Albert Camus once said, “Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.”
Hence, to realize the value of culture and its importance, look within to conquer the world outside. This would not only ensure your breakthrough but also make your odyssey of entrepreneurship a joyful ride!
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