Hi Folks
As we close in on 2019, I want to recall some takeaways that I got from 3 different events – one was a large startup conference, the other a small gathering to celebrate the success of a client’s investment closure and the third one a completely different set up – a decennial celebration (10th year) of an Art School run by a passionate Teacher, Veena.
✤ A speaker at the startup conference, who is himself a seasoned entrepreneur and author recalled his meeting with Warren Buffet and shared what the Investment Guru said – “I make investment in the ‘person I meet’ and tick 3 boxes – Competence, Passion & Values”. So it is the Person he values !
✤ A Big Investor in one of my clients who is himself a celebrated, successful new-age entrepreneur stated categorically at the investment closure gathering that all the elaborate due diligences apart, he decided to invest in the company only due to the Commitment & Integrity of the promoters. This has been the investment quotient of most of his successful acquisitions.
✤ At the Art School exhibition which displayed lovely paintings of both the Teacher and the Taught, the Chief Guest, who is himself a well-known sculptor and caricaturist urged children to focus on Excellence & persevere without aiming for Success as a Goal. He lamented that most children start dropping out from art classes when they enter 10th standard, thanks to the gruelling ‘Board exams-tuitions-JEE preparation coaching’ vicious cycle that parents subject them to unnecessarily. They are asked to stop painting, stop playing, stop learning music – all labelled as non-core activities – as soon as they reach 10th standard and instead start utilising the time only for studies. Little do they realise that art brings in focus, determination, discipline and happiness to the minds of the growing children if pursued along with academics. Parents he said, also create an artificial pressure situation by comparing children with others and pushing them to win prizes instead of encouraging them to excel in and enjoy their art work. I couldn’t agree more with his call for “Don’t compare with others. Compete with yourself. You should be a competitor to your own painting. Ask yourself, how can I do better next time ?” instead of comparing with others. He appreciated Veena for being such a patient art teacher over the years and producing such marvellous students (see banner which is a combo of Veena’s and her students’ paintings). Yet another advice the Chief Guest had for the young ones was – “Do your own learning. No one can teach you everything. You need to learn on your own by observing – how do they paint, what material they use, what techniques they use ? Without the curiosity and ability to observe keenly, no learning can happen”.
It is not coincidence that in all the 3 instances above, the focus was on Excellence, Passion & Commitment as the pathway to achieving success. Nothing new but time tested and proven over the years across different generations and genres of learning as the mantra to success. I hope to continue sharing such nuggets through this fortnightly newsletter in the next 10 years of publication.
This is the winter of the year but there seems to be no winter for the regulatory updates. In this 226th issue of Samhita, do read up the changes made under IBC (which have been summarised by my good friend and fellow professional CS Sumana Rao, a registered Insolvency Professional) and amendment to FEM(Non-debt Instrument) Rules – in less than 2 months, the originally issued Rules have been amended by the Ministry of Finance and that too with retrospective effect from Oct, 2019. Clearly some of them are to undo the wrongly included FDI thresholds and update to reflect the current provisions. Hope atleast in 2020, the law makers will do better to issue Rules and Regulations after due thought process, discussions and drafting.
Mr. Vittal Rao’s article on enforceability of non-compete clause in an employment contract, both during and post the period of employment is quite insightful and practical. Do read.
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