After being in business for almost four decades, Chairman of Essel Group, Dr Subhash Chandra, is bringing forth his experiences and success stories on a larger platform for the benefit of the next generation.
After being in business for almost four decades, Chairman of Essel Group, Dr Subhash Chandra, is bringing forth his experiences and success stories on a larger platform for the benefit of the next generation.
"I'm often asked about my success, education and knowledge. Many a time I'm even asked how I secured the "doctorate" title having studied only up to class X," he shares at the start of the Dr Subhash Chandra Show aired on Zee News. "To this I respond that it was the University of East London that considered my practical experiences and knowledge in business management equivalent to those who have studied the subject."
Addressing the youth in the audience, Dr Chandra answered their questions on a host of subjects.
With such a diversified conglomerate, which business are you most passionate about?
I'm very passionate about all my businesses. I started my career in the family business of foodgrains, and from there onwards I kept moving from one thing to another. I started nine pioneering businesses in the country; Zee is only one of them. Out of these nine, only six were successful and three failed.
How did you, at the age of 17, take over a failing family business and turn it into a successful conglomerate?
I was once told by my teacher that with the blessings of God and fire in my heart, anything is achievable. And this is what drives me to success.
Please tell us about the failures that you faced.
It has been my philosophy that I will not do any business unless it is number one or a strong number two. And this is why I have closed more businesses than I have opened.
What were the challenges that you faced?
You will always face challenges in life. But if you can learn everything you can about your weaknesses, you can turn it into your strength.
How difficult was the journey from being ordinary to extraordinary? How did you cope with criticism?
I learned from those who mocked me. In 1983, I used live in Delhi, where Hindi was a commonly used language. However, in Mumbai, English was the more commonly used language by most businesses. And since I did not speak that well in English, people would often laugh at me. However, I never let that give me an inferiority complex. I faced the fact that English was not my first language and that I would not be able to speak it well. The more important idea was to be able to communicate my point of view.
Only 2 out of 10 people are pursuing what they really wanted to do in life. The rest are influenced by their friends and families. One needs to understand that talent, experience, and knowledge are three separate elements for success. First recognise your talent, and only pursue what you think is your best talent.
How should young entrepreneurs deal with issues of finance?
Innovation is the key for young businesses to compete with larger MNCs. For instance, I started out with a mill to process pulses, but we did not have the working capital for it. So we approached the Food Corporation of India and offered to upgrade them to supply to the army.
I disagree with those who say that innovation is a function of money; one does not need capital to innovate. No matter what you do, do it wholeheartedly with absolute concentration. If you have faith, then the entire cosmos will conspire to make it happen.
But what about those businesses that failed; there was faith involved there as well, yet they did not succeed.
Conceptually, I only approached those businesses that I was confident would achieve 100% success. However, many a times they are not successful, but that is usually because of failure is execution, timings or even the simple definition of success.
Why do you think that the youth of India do not consider politics as a serious career path?
We as Indians have ruined politics. Our films always show politicians as bad people. Also the Indian constitution does not set any qualifications to be a politician. But if the educated youth of today participate in politics, I believe that it can be turned into a very likeable career opportunity.
How important is the role of media in shaping young minds?
This show is an effort towards exactly that. Through this show we hope to bring to you a lot of innovative ideas, showcase companies that do innovative work, in an attempt to shape the thought process of the youth in India.
Watch more here:
The Dr Subhash Chandra Show airs on Saturday at 10 pm on Zee News and 7pm on Zee Business and on Sundays at 11 am on both Zee News & Zee Business.
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