Monday 25 May 2015

Dream With Your Eyes Open - Ronnie Screwvala. Book Review by Ajay Singha

This book goes well beyond strategies for wealth accumulation and talks of genuine value creation from a limited resource base. It is a personal account of a man who embraces and accepts failure as intrinsic to and an integral part of success. A remarkable story of a rank outsider who dares to enter the closed club of Bollywood, fights tremendous odds and emerges a winner. Ronnie encounters failure and disappointments on what he calls the “Journey of entrepreneurship” and narrates how he overcomes them all.

Ronnie’s own experiences are based on his experiences with the media and entertainment industry but the lessons learnt there from are perhaps relevant for all upcoming entrepreneurs anywhere in the world. Ronnie realised very early that the race for the top starts at the finishing line of mediocre success. He advises quick scaling up and rapid expansion of any new venture.

As a non-conformist he thoroughly downplays the idea of luck and advises focus and single minded determination to achieve success. “Stay the course – it is the holy grail of business!” he advises. All the ingredients that go to make great entrepreneurs look a lot like the recipe for luck. He has quite a different take on exiting a business and the common management concept of having a plan B. He never timed his exits from the various ventures he divested from and is convinced that a plan B is unlikely to guarantee great success. At best a plan B could ensure survival.

Upset with their arrogance, Ronnie had the courage to cut short a 100 million $ negotiation with Sony and told them “No need for another call at midnight, we will not be going forward.” He strongly believes in investing in talent and keeping a closely knit high performance team in play for 'high growth' in new ventures. Drawing lessons from theatre, Ronnie observes that no actor worth his salt will go on stage without knowing his lines. He therefore proposes relentless analysis and research in an environment where your business can become outdated any moment.

Challenges in India include the inability to face fear and uncertainty, a conservative mind set, a low appetite for risk, no gift of the gab and a general lack of confidence. Ronnie overcame them all and after successfully divesting his various businesses is now entering his second innings.

Handling failure, scaling up business and choosing the right team may not be new management phenomena but coming from an emotionally charged, successful individual they carry conviction and impact readers at a very personal level. The book is light reading and specially recommended for upcoming entrepreneurs.

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