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Be a Lion: Dare to Live and Dream Fearlessly, by Rakesh Wahi
RAKESH Wahi’s book is exceptional in two ways. As an autobiography it avoids the airbrushed, look-at-me-and-copy-what-you-see prescription for success, and the facile 10-steps-to-success that is so annoying about autobiographies.
Scanning the list of the last 150 books I have reviewed in this column, not one was autobiographical. This was not because I didn’t come across any, but because they are too self-aggrandising to be interesting, or too glib about a matter as important and nuanced as succeeding in business.
What is different about Wahi’s book is that it is a detailed chronicle of his progress, with the challenges, mistakes, frustration and difficulties that accompany the entrepreneurial life.
The real value to both entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs is its realism. For those who haven’t had a peaceful night’s sleep in two years as their ostensibly successful venture takes body blows, you will recognise a kindred soul in Mr Wahi. Many entrepreneurs wish they could talk frankly, safely and anonymously to some super-successful entrepreneur, so they don’t feel demeaned or inferior.
This book is a very close second prize. Wahi is describing much of what you may be experiencing, and viewing the ‘Be a Lion’ as a one-sided conversation, will be very valuable.
Some background. Indian born Rakesh Wahi, started CNBC Africa, Forbes magazine’s Africa-focused editions, the Dubai branch of Australia Murdoch University, Tech Distribution (that owns the distribution rights of Microsoft, ADOBE and Oracle in Sri Lanka and Brunei,) and more.
Important in many ways is that Wahi started his career in the Indian military with its severely high selection criteria, discipline, and values of self-sacrifice and commitment. (It accepts only 300 of 400 000 applicants.) He holds two engineering degrees.
After leaving the military, then 30-year-old Wahi’s career has centred on building start-up companies.
Are any of the businesses described in this book ‘unicorns’ (a start-up business worth a billion dollars)? For the reader, thankfully not. There is very little an entrepreneur can learn from start-ups that are so rare that we refer to them as mythical creatures. Nor can entrepreneurs learn much from a hundred-year-old business whose turnover is greater than the GDP of most of the 195 countries in the world.
It is tempting to go straight to chapter four, titled ‘Lessons’, but you will definitely get most out of the book by reading what came before it, and what comes after. This chapter opens with the quotation: “Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
“Positive experiences have a high impact on our lives, as we learn to recognise our strengths and start to leverage them. But negative experiences can be equally impactful, as we begin to recognise that most crises can be avoided, if we had planned beforehand and perhaps acted differently,” Wahi explains. Mistakes are inevitable, but repeating a mistake is not acceptable.
Wahi learned a seminal lesson from his father. Soon after he was born, his father enrolled him in Doon School, one of India’s finest all-boys boarding schools. At the time, he had no idea how he would afford it. The challenge that followed, having made the commitment, was to do whatever it would take to realise this dream.
For each of Wahi’s dreams “we developed properly formulated, well thought-out plans, as well as detailed feasibility studies, to clearly define the path that would turn the dream into reality. We made sure that the right people who had earned my absolute and complete trust, were in place to execute the plans.”
Trust is a theme that is referred to throughout the book. For a successful working relationship, this question has to be answered affirmatively: “Do I trust this person to act in the best interests of the business and me personally? Am I meeting all the commitments I have made to the individual in question?” Trust is a bi-directional requirement that develops over time. Without trust, there cannot be a successful business relationship.
Wahi places a very high emphasis on the HR function in his organisations, far greater than I have heard from many executives. This was influenced by his army experience where he learned the imperative to prepare soldiers for what they had joined up to do: defend their country irrespective of the consequences to themselves. And what a thorough preparation that would have to be!
He uses the word ‘responsibility’ rather than ‘job’ – you can have a job, but you have to fulfil a responsibility. You can go home from your job when your 8 hours are over, but you don’t go to sleep until you have completed your responsibilities.
“I have always believed you should give people a chance to change or improve,” says Wahi. However, “whenever I have spared someone over an ethical violation, it has come back to haunt me as the person has always let me down again.”
Doing your homework is indispensable. Too many people believe that having a dream that you want badly enough is sufficient to attract it into reality. That is simply delusional. You have to prepare well, and get the best advice.
When asked what is the single most important requirement for success in emerging markets, Wahi always replies: patience. You cannot lack this characteristic, and you have to understand how to use it effectively.
This book will be most valuable to those who have already entered the world of entrepreneurship. They will appreciate Wahi’s wise counsel.
Readability: Light -+--- Serious
Insights: High -+--- Low
Practical: High -+--- Low
* Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works. Views expressed are his own.
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