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#. Accept the pair of opposites
Any public figure (ill vouch that the public can garland you on
one day and thro( stones the
very next. Dhoni has learnt this bitter truth early in life. A
&' reporter asked him of the scene
outside his 4anchi house if India (on the #orld "up. 0e said
there (ould be big
celebrations5 yet in the same tone told vie(ers $(ithout any
anguish% of the protests outside
his house (hen India played badly a fe( years ago. People take a
lifetime to understand andaccept that life is full of opposites
$6oy and sorro(, (inning and losing, pleasure and pain%,
but Dhoni has understood this at age 78. &eam UPA might find
this philosophy of
the9hagvad +ita too difficult to digest.
$. %inning is a&ot teamor" an( motivating yor colleages
In the post)match conference after India had (on the #orld "up
on April 7, former India
captain)turned)&')commentator 4avi hastri asked Dhoni (hy he
chose to bat ahead of the
man in form, all)rounder :uvra6 ingh. Dhoni said that after he
(as convinced of the idea, he
spoke to coach +ary ;irsten and the seniors before going ahead.
0e understands the
importance of dra(ing from seniors! experience and (isdom.
&his (ay they feel valued, he
invites their blessings and thus builds team(ork. A person (ho
has innate confidence inhimself tends to have a collaborative
approach. #hen ehra dropped a catch in the semi)
finals Dhoni did not admonish him but asked to let go. &his
motivated ehra (hose
performance (as outstanding. Unlike in the past, Dhoni did not
allo( regional 2uota system
to influence team selection. nly performance mattered3
). *eep cool! an( &e focse( an( (etermine(
&hroughout the last three #orld "up matches $including the
final%, one sa( a cool and
composed Dhoni even though he expressed anger for Piyush "ha(la
in an earlier match.
Playing in front of home cro(ds and being (atched by millions
can make the best (ilt under
pressure. #hen Australia and Pakistan (ere batting in a flurry,
Dhoni (as calm and focussed
on the game at hand. &here (ere no impulsive bo(ling or
fielding changes. I am sure you
noticed the determination in his eyes (hen Dhoni hit the #orld
"up (inning six/ it (as as if
he (ere stating, !I (ill not rest till (e have (on the "up!.
&aking your (ork to a logical
conclusion is another 2uality. Dhoni al(ays spoke (ith respect
about others teams and
criticised his co)players in a very nice (ay. pening batsman
+autam +ambhir!s missing out
on scoring a memorable century in a #orld "up final game (as
entirely his fault, said Dhoni.
Dhoni heard criticism, probably reflected on it, but converted
it into positive energy and let
performance speak. 0e is a 2uiet (orker. -very Indian needs to
imbibe these 2ualities from
the nation!s cricket team captain.
+. ,mility an( lac" of flam&oyance&he post)final period
sa( a display of emotions by many players. Dhoni hugged and
congratulated many but underplayed his presence, (as
inconspicuous after a (hile. &here
(as no display of sho(manship or blo(ing his o(n trumpet. 0e
displayed exemplary
maturity. Perhaps, the humility comes from his simple
background. Dhoni!s father (orked as
a lo(er division clerk (ith Mecon, 4anchi. M Dhoni has risen on
the basis of sheer hard
(ork and performance. In spite of being the captain of the high
profile Indian team, Dhoni
speaks (ith no airs, and sho(s no arrogance or attitude. #hen
Manmohan ingh (on the
7
8/11/2019 8 Management Lessons From Dhoni for UPA
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8. In(ia's ne-t P shol( &e from the hinterlan(
I am reasonably sure $no offence meant% that an Indian captain
brought up in a metro city
might not have conducted himself so exemplarily. eeing a boy
from 4anchi, (ho hails from
;umaon, Uttaranchal, lead &eam India successfully I (onder
(hether leaders from India!s
hinterland can relate to India better1 After all, the chief
ministers of "hhattisgarh $4aman
ingh%, +u6arat $arendra Modi% and 9ihar $itish ;umar% are from
similar backgrounds anddoing outstanding (ork in their states.
#hile the rest of India criticises the Public
Distribution ystem, the less hyped about 4aman ingh government
in "hhattisgarh has
revolutionised the system to reduce leakages, and had made it
(ork. "an the cash)rich 9oard
of "ontrol for "ricket in India $9""I% and Dhoni help the Indian
hockey team (in the next
#orld "up1 0ockey is after all our national sport.
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