Legacy: Letters from eminent parents to their daughters (7 page)

It was during this period that I took a couple of hours off one day to attend your brother’s squash tournament. I did not know it then, but my very presence at the tournament went a long way in reinstalling customer confidence in the bank. A few mothers at the tournament came up to me and asked me if I was Chanda Kochhar from ICICI Bank and when I replied in the affirmative, they said that if I could still find time to attend a tournament in the midst of a crisis, it meant that the bank was in safe hands and they need not worry about their money!

It was also from my mother that I learnt the importance of adapting to circumstances and not being afraid of the unknown. In the 25 years that I have spent at the ICICI Group, I have moved across several responsibilities—from setting up new businesses around the globe to heading new functions within the company itself. When I was told to shift from corporate banking to retail operations, I personally felt like I was taking a huge risk because the bank’s corporate business, which I headed till then, accounted for the bulk of the bank’s balance sheet and profits. In comparison, retail was a very small business at that time, but I decided to take on the job and in six years’ time, saw it grow from less than Rs 200 crore in 2000 to Rs 100,000 crore in 2006 in the bank’s balance sheet. I learnt to always keep my mind open to new ideas and looked at each new assignment as an opportunity to learn and prove myself. Adaptability is a great asset to have because life is so unpredictable and things can change overnight for any of us.

I am often asked how I have been able to balance work and home simultaneously. I will admit that it has been a tough, sometimes exhausting, but extremely satisfying journey for me. Often, I would make it happen by giving up on sleep and on my ‘me’ time, tending to all the things that needed to be done so that my home functioned well even while I was at work.

While working hard for my career, I looked after my family, been there for my mother and in-laws when they needed me around. They reciprocated in kind with their unconditional love and support for my career. Remember that relationships are important and have to be nurtured and cherished. Also keep in mind that a relationship is a two-way street, so be ready to give to a relationship just as you would expect the other person to be giving to you.

My career would not have progressed the way it did were it not for the support of your father who never once complained about the time I spent away from home. Your father and I nurtured our relationship despite the fact that we were both busy with our own careers, and I am confident you will do the same with your partner, when the time comes. If you had complained and whined about my extended absence from home, I would never have had the heart to make a career for myself. I am blessed with a great and supportive family and I really hope you too will be as fortunate when you set out on your own!

I remember the day your Board exams were about to commence. I had taken a leave from work so that I could take you to the examination hall myself. When you realized I was coming, you told me how you were used to going for your exams alone for so many years. It hurt me to hear you say that, but I also think in some ways, having a working mother made you much more independent from a very young age itself. You not only became independent, but also stepped into the nurturer’s role for your younger brother and never let him miss my presence. As you grew up, I learnt to have trust and faith in you and you have now grown into a wonderful, independent woman. I now use the same principle at work to make our growing population of younger talent take on larger responsibilities. I believe in fate, but I also believe that hard work and diligence plays a very important role in our lives. I would not leave everything to destiny. In fact, I believe that in a larger sense we all write our own destiny. Take your destiny in your hands, dream of what you want to achieve, and write it in your own way. As you go ahead in life, I want you to climb the path to success one step at a time. Aim for the sky but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete. When I became the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI in 2009, it was a great milestone for me. But when I started my career and the length of my training period was reduced from twelve months to nine in 1984 owing to my good performance, it was a source of great satisfaction for me at that time! So, enjoy every step of your journey.

As you go forward, you will sometimes have to take difficult decisions, decisions that others might scorn. But you must have the courage to stand up for what you believe in. Over the last three years, I have made considerable changes at ICICI Bank to de-risk the balance sheet and position it for sustainable, profitable growth. In the initial period, this meant actually consolidating operations, slowing down growth, and re-looking at some business models that were not doing well. It was a difficult thing to do, but for me the ability to do it came from the confidence of knowing that I had done my homework, analyzed the issue, and figured out what was the right thing to do in the context of what was happening around us. Aarti, this is something I want you to remember—make sure you have the conviction to do what you know is right, and once you have that conviction, don’t let sceptics distract you from your path.

I am often asked what gives me satisfaction. To me, ‘satisfaction’ means giving my best effort to everything I do, doing it not just to the best of my ability, but in the best way it could have been done. Excel in everything that you are doing, Aarti, and apply this to every part of your life—your home, relationships, and everything else that is either a duty, a desire, or an obligation.

Aarti, there is no limit to what a determined mind can achieve, but in achieving your goal, don’t compromise on the values of fair play and honesty. Don’t cut corners or compromise to achieve your dreams. Remember to be sensitive to the feelings of the people around you and don’t forget to be diligent about your work. And remember, if you don’t allow stress to overtake you, it will never become an issue in your life.

As a young woman stepping out into the world, I wish for you to dream your own dreams, aspire for something big, and create your own goals. Remember that good times and bad times will be part of your life equally, and you have to learn to handle both with equanimity. Excel in everything that you do, make the most out of life’s opportunities and learn from every opportunity and challenge that life brings along.

Lovingly yours,
Mumma

Deep Anand

y his own admission, Deep Anand, Chairman of the Rs 50 billion Anand Automotive Group, raised his only daughter, Anjali, to be the ‘puttar’ or son of the family. The little girl that came into the lives of the Anand couple after almost two decades of their marriage, brought renewed joy and meaning into their lives.

The couple, however, decided that their daughter would stand a better chance at being a global citizen if she went to residential school abroad. They saw it as an opportunity for her to make new friends, learn about new cultures, and share her blessings with others.

At the young age of 27, Deep Anand established his first business venture in the year 1961, setting up the group’s flagship company, Gabriel India, which manufactured shock absorbers. Decades later, his daughter Anjali Anand Singh, mother of twins, is waiting in the wings to take over the empire.

Back from her wanderings around the world, which included a Masters in Fine Arts from Central St. Martins and a Business Management degree from the University of Westminster, Anjali Singh, however, remained restless and unfulfilled with her father’s business and eventually set out on her own, setting up luxury resorts in India’s rural outback. She is as proud of The Serai, a luxury tent resort in the Thar desert and Sher Bagh, an eco-resort situated in India’s tiger belt of Ranthambore, as she is of her pair of twins.

Now in his late seventies, Deep Anand continues to be the energetic, restless young man that he was when he went about the task of establishing enduring global partnerships with leading automotive component companies from around the world. While the history of Indian companies and their global partnerships is replete with examples of failed relationships and bitter separations, the Anand Group today has 13 joint ventures and 7 technical licenses, all which have withstood the pressures of doing business in what has been a roller coaster ride in uncertain economic terrains. The group has since then become the subject of management studies on establishing long-term business partnerships.

In the fifty years that he has invested into the company, the group has grown to be a much admired entity, with 8 companies spread across 49 locations and 9 states in the country and a separate vertical operating in the Luxury Hospitality segment which was started by Anjali.

The key to his success has been his belief that it is people who make organizations what they are. Over the last few decades, he has honed and perfected the ability to take on board people from diverse backgrounds, with a diversity of beliefs and thoughts, to steer his conglomerate to success. ‘Business is 90% people’, he told me several times during our multiple meetings. The Anand Group employs over 13,000 people across its various locations and offices. The group lays great emphasis on the development of its employees through training programmes conducted by its in-house technical and management institute—Anand ‘U’.

The young man who came from Lahore with a heart full of dreams studied Mechanical Engineering at the Chippenham College of Technology, UK, and started his career in 1954 as a Plant Manager with Mahindra & Mahindra in Mumbai.

When his father wanted him to go the regular route and be content with a small business of his own, he stood his ground and relentlessly chased his ambitions till he struck pay dirt. He continues to be the face of the group, travelling and striking up relationships around the globe, for the company’s growth.

When he is not busy with work, Anand retires to his many homes around the country. I met him at his sprawling farmhouse by a river on the outskirts of Pune, with a few hundred mango trees, a swimming pool that he shares with wild ducks, and fruit and vegetable orchards that make the place a self-sufficient abode. During the course of our meeting, he showed me around the place in an all-terrain-vehicle with child-like delight while I hung on for dear life in the back seat.

Anand is also an avid reader and golf player who used to enjoy shooting game. He raised Anjali in their farmhouse in Delhi where she had the company of horses and spent her days collecting bird eggs and bonding with nature.

‘I brought her up as my Puttar but today, I must confess that I feel the boundless joy of having a daughter. It is such a pleasure to have a daughter. She is more forgiving, caring, and more than generous in reciprocating your affection,’ Anand told me about Anjali.

Dear Anjali,

Over the last three decades that your mother and I have been blessed with your presence in our lives, the one thing about you that has continuously kept us captivated is your endless diversity, your unlikely interests, and your boundless spirit.