“Value for many, value for money. How passionately you adhere to your value systems and business objectives will determine the success of your business,” said Dr RS Sodhi, Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, owner of the Amul brand, on Day 2 of Isha Leadership Academy’s business leadership programme — “Isha Insight: The DNA of Success.”
"Whatever value system we have, it was instilled in us by our founders. When I say value for many, I mean providing a very stable price to the millions of farmers who produce milk day after day, so they are encouraged to invest more, produce more, grow more, and similarly provide the best-made food products," Sodhi said, echoing the values and ethos instilled in the DNA of Amul by their Founder Verghese Kurien, also known as the ‘Father of the White Revolution’ in India, on his 100th birth anniversary.
Known for transforming the country's dairy farming with the largest rural employment sector, Amul's success in scaling is due to their execution strategy, according to Sodhi.
"Expansion, expansion, and more expansion. We expanded our milk procurement centres not only in Gujarat, but also outside of Gujarat in 2010, and we now operate in more than 15 states. We get 17 per cent of our milk from outside sources," he added.
In the face of the dominance of giant corporations, Sodhi has called for a revival of cooperative-based economic development for small businesses in the country.
"For small businesses, cooperatives are the best way to do business. They can come together, share resources, create their own supply chain, and reach the consumer. As a result, the maximum amount earned is returned to the supplier or producer of service," Sodhi explained.
Sharing an advice for the Isha Insight participants, Sodhi said, “Whatever business you are in, India is the right country. Try to build your organisation, brand and product, which is owned by your consumers.”
Sagar Daryani, Co-Founder and CEO, Wow! Momo Foods, shared his insights on how they started off their food business with a budget of Rs 30,000.
“I believe the life of an entrepreneur should be so big that they don’t allow you to sleep. How do you start a business with Rs 30,000? So in India, if you have to do a start-up, you have to know how to do your jugaad. We knew how to do our jugaad!”
According to Daryani, his biggest investor is his customers. “Prior to 2015, we were approached by many Indian investors to take funding. But somewhere I felt the business was not ready for funding. So with a lot of confidence, I had to say no. As an entrepreneur, it's very important to say ‘No’ with confidence if you don’t believe in something because you must listen to everyone but do what your heart and mind says and what is good for the business,” he said.
The four-day programme, designed to help entrepreneurs prepare for the next stage of their leadership journey, was kicked off by Sadhguru on Thursday. Talking about having a clear purpose in business, the spiritual leader told the participants, “The most important thing is to cultivate a burning desire in your heart. If this occurs, you will notice that plans will come a plenty.”
Advising the participants not to become fixated on their plans, Sadhguru said that "plans are only tools to execute the purpose. How many lives you've changed, how far you've reached... These are the factors that will determine your success."
Nithin Kamath, the Founder and CEO of Zerodha, India's largest stock broker, and one of the Key Resource Leaders of Isha Insight 2021, shared the "unconventional" journey of the country's largest stock broker.
“You can be a business that lets the product do the talking, that thinks about giving back. A conscious business. I think India needs that. India needs a lot of big businesses, which are conscious about what is happening around them,” he shared on Day 1 of Isha Insight.
Sadhguru founded the Isha Leadership Academy over 10 years ago to provide the highest quality leadership education by combining external skill sets with tools for wellbeing. 'Isha Insight: The DNA of Success' was created to help entrepreneurs in navigating the rapidly changing environment while also delving into the science of scaling up their business.
Beyond strategies or techniques, Isha Leadership Academy focuses on developing leadership as an innate and intuitive process. The program provides attendees with an exclusive opportunity to evaluate their journey through the experiential lens of successful leaders.
