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The business lessons I learnt from my
gardening hobby
(Version 2.0)
Mak Pandit
mak@technowrites.com
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit2
About this session
How it all started
The thought process and the evidence
Lessons learnt
Exercises
Summary
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit3
How it all started
We constructed a new bungalow in 1996
We decided to dedicate some area to garden
I spent a lot of time and other resources for gardening
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit4
The thought process
As the involvement grew, I started relating
the gardening experiences to my business
I started thinking whether my garden can
actually work as my tiny little R&D Lab
Like trees, human beings too are a part of
nature
Most laws of nature apply to human beings
as well
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit5
The evidence
As the plants in the garden grew I tested my
hypothesis on them
Surprised and motivated by the success, I
started reverse-thinking, and applying the
lessons learnt to the business…and…it
worked!
The trial and error continues…
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit6
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The lessons
Before I start let me mention that all these
photos are real and hence not very
picturesque
They look like an agricultural college
compound or a typical household garden;
and not like Vrindavan Garden
So here goes…
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Good soil is a must
For a business, good working environment is a
must. Else your team members will not grow.
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Some unwanted plants may also take root and consume the resources
Dig out the unwanted ideas and focus on the
desired ones
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Keep distance between plants. Give them space to grow
Give your team members space to grow
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Invest in short and long-termreturns
Some plants will bear fruits or flowers quickly, while there are some that take years (often generations) before they can bear fruit.
A company needs to invest in a mix ofproducts or services. Some of them will giveyou returns quickly and keep you inbusiness. Others will take a lot of time. Butwhen they start delivering it is enough tosustain the organization.
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Some plants need direct sunlight, some can’t bear it
Some people are good
at managing customers
Some are good at
developing products
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Some plants bear flowers, some bear fruits, some both!
In an organization you need a team who can do different things
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Some plants can sustain themselves after a while, but you still need to monitor them
If someone starts performing, you may feel that that person/unit can now do everything on its own.
But continuous monitoring and experimentation has to go on.
Though it is tedious work, your total output can double, with proper monitoring and management of resources.
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Plants also need water, minerals, support, and sunlight
People and products may have different requirements of money, support, motivation, and so on.
You need to continuously invest in training and other activities.
If people become complacent, their productivity will be affected.
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Plants need to be sprayed with drugs and medicines regularly
People may be
infected with negative
ideas.
They need to be
motivated all the time.
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Plants shed leaves regularly. Every year it is a new plant. But the roots remain the same.
We need to develop our skills and adopt to
the changes in environment.
Our values need not change.
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The garden becomes a complete ecology one day…
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…it is not yours anymore, you simply become a part of it!
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Closing Thought
In his book “The High Performance
Entrepreneur” Subrato Bagchi said,
“Building a company is not planting a
giant tree. It is about creating an entire
forest someday.”
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit28
Questions?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit29
Summary…
Good working environment is a must.
Give people challenges to overcome, opportunities to grow and freedom (space) to work.
Focus on the mission, do not waste time and resources in unrelated activities. The opportunity cost of wasted resources is very high.
Invest in short and long-term returns.
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit30
Summary…
Identify strengths and weaknesses of your team
members and allocate roles based on that.
Invest in a bundle of products, services, people.
People need resources to do their job, only paying
them is not sufficient. Give them training and
resources required.
Motivate your team members to keep their minds free of negative thoughts.
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit31
Summary…
Your business will grow to become the life and shelter for so many others. It will not belong to you. You will belong to it. These are signs of success.
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Interesting statistics…
Technical Writers have rated the following as triggers for changing jobs
Higher responsibilities – 50%
Better workplace – 44%
More convenient geographic location – 44%
Bigger size organization – 50%
More challenging technologies – 41%
More advanced TC Tools – 50%
(STC India 2007 Salary Survey)
(c) 2014, Mak Pandit33
Thank you!
Feel free to write to me
I will soon be hosting a video of this presentation on YouTube. I can share link of the video.
Mak Pandit
mak@technowrites.com
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