In conversation with Anand Nair, entrepreneur, educationist, speaker & founder of Agni Leadership Centre.
From a fledgling management trainee in the early 80’s to the CEO of the Institute for Clinical Research (India), it has been a long and fulfilling journey for Anand Nair. Now a popular keynote speaker, he lives to see people grow by ‘creating positive energies within that propel them towards an intense desire for success.’
When I approach Anand for this interview, the first thing I notice about him is this very obvious positive energy. Founder of Agni Leadership Centre, a Bangalore based organization that works towards creating worthy leaders in the industry, he is gracious enough to explain to me in great detail the different aspects of business mentorship.
In India’s present start-up culture, what are the ways a mentor can add value?
Anand: Mentors bring enormous experience, knowledge and perseverance to the table. It is therefore highly imperative that Start-ups engage Mentors from the moment they embark on a journey of Entrepreneurship. Becoming a successful entrepreneur is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires not only business and governance skills, but also extremely accurate intuitive acumen. This is the critical gap that experienced mentors fill. In most countries abroad, entrepreneurs regularly engage the services of mentors hence, greatly reducing their risks of failure. It is for this very reason, the percentage of successful start-ups abroad is significantly far higher as compared to our own country.
I was just reading an article that said, ‘people often think the mentor will do all the work for them. But the mentor can are there to be a guiding force primarily.’ On this background, please throw some light on what and what not to expect from a mentor?
Anand: You are absolutely right when you say that most entrepreneurs in India believe that mentors will do all the work for them. On the contrary, mentors are actually akin to a lighthouse on moonless shores guiding ships through rough waters to safety all the time. The journey of entrepreneurship is never bereft of pitfalls; some of which could be highly disruptive. It is the predictive forte of a mentor that enables the entrepreneur to skillfully journey, avoiding hazards strewn along the path, in order to create and successfully run a business venture. Therefore a mentor is not someone engaged to ‘get the job done’, but to dexterously advice the entrepreneur on how to realize his dreams through his aptitude and the propensity of his workforce. Effective mentors don’t only limit their role to just exclusively advising entrepreneurs but also involve themselves in creating high caliber leaders among the professionals employed by the entrepreneur through effective empowerment training and skill development methodologies. In addition, they also bridge gaps in communication between the top management and the rest of the existing segments within the organization bringing in a ‘oneness’ in thought and action to the entire advantage of the venture. Thus, the role of a mentor can never be underplayed and treated insignificantly.In your mentorship career, what mistakes have you observed to be oft repeated by small business owners?
Anand: Throughout my mentorship career I have observed several mistakes small business owners have made – some of which have literally made them close shop, so to speak! But some of the most common ones can be highlighted:
| ✓ | Never higher people today you can’t fire tomorrow |
It is commonly known that starting a business is quite a bold decision and every entrepreneur goes through fears of the unknown. It is this insecurity that encourages them to induct people into their initial core team whom they have either known or worked with in the past and with whom they are emotionally attached to. However, do these very people have the requisite skill sets to ensure that the venture would finally prove to be a successful one? This is a question that never seems to cross their minds at this stage. It is very critical that entrepreneurs induct into their core team professionals who can rise to the occasion fearlessly and with very high levels of integrity and commitment matched with a force of high energy and hard work. This is simply because the initial run could turn out to be a ceaseless marathon if the core team was not up to it.
| ✓ | Choosing the right financers |
This is very important. I have known many entrepreneurs who have literally gone ‘down under’ purely because of excessive interference by their financers who were more concerned about the day to day activities of the people involved in the business than actually laying their hands off the organization and allowing the entrepreneurs and their teams to meet their business targets.
| ✓ | Keeping a strong vigilance over finances |
There is nothing wrong in tough financial boot-strapping, immaterial the size of the funding, during the initial phases of setting up a business. And even thereafter till financial targets are met. Several entrepreneurs I have known have gone ballistic over spending once the initial funding has been received. Instead of investing into skilled, significant manpower, so crucial for a start-up, they have rather invested into fancy offices, interiors and non-significant manpower which in no way augurs with their present need.
| ✓ | Knowing how to take the ‘product to the market’ |
Not every entrepreneur can be a good salesman. Sales is a very different ballgame all together left exclusively to hardcore sales personnel to deliver efficiently. An over indulgence in advice or strategic planning can highly demotivate sales teams who are more ‘hands on’ in the market place than MIS creators sitting in office. In addition, hiring a small marketing team to research alternate modes of taking the product to the market would be highly advisable considering the fact that we now exist in an era of virtual reality.
| ✓ | Not having an adequate and efficient customer feedback mode |
This is the most essential part of growing a small business. Many entrepreneurs tend to accept feedbacks from either their sales or marketing teams but seldom reach out to their customers for a direct feedback. Much of the holocaust of a sluggish movement of products to the market can be avoided if entrepreneurs engaged themselves directly with their customers on a regular basis.
| ✓ | Strategically planning continuously on trying to kill the competition |
There is room for everyone or else the market would forever remain a monopolistic one. Don’t sweat over the competition. Instead strategize to turn your product into a ‘WOW’ experience for your customer! And back it up with awesome after-sales as and when the need arises.
| ✓ | Last but not the least - Resilience |
I have met many entrepreneurs who have given up much too soon and are now languishing in a state of flux. Resilience is the key to success for any venture. ‘Being at it’ requires guts and consistency, both key traits of successful entrepreneurs. Being well focused, planned and believing in the fact that, against all odds, you can still win is very important to succeed. Growing a business is hard work and can never be achieved without a large dose of resilience.
How does one go about the process of selecting the right mentor for his business?
Anand: Mentors come with a single passion fueled in them: to ensure you succeed! And that is why they are a continuous sounding board at critical points in the entire journey towards the ultimate goal of success. But choosing the right mentor is a very tricky issue for start-ups and entrepreneurs. However, if certain facts are kept in mind while choosing a mentor it could well prove beneficial in the long run:
| ✓ | Find a mentor that far exceeds your experience and maturity |
The mentor chosen must have far more experience and maturity than the entrepreneur backed with a good track record of success. In addition, verifying the track record by talking to references provided is not a bad move. After all, every entrepreneur is in search for a long term relationship with a mentor and therefore, it would not be wise to rush into appointing one till one is totally satisfied.
| ✓ | It is not necessary to engage a Mentor who has the same product experience |
In fact this could well turn out to be a limiting factor for growth as the mentor may be too ‘fixated’ with his mentoring based on past experiences that may not allow effective innovative plans envisaged by the entrepreneur to take root. Several small business have done exceedingly well with mentors not related to their industry simply because these mentors were now as open to experimentation as their entrepreneurs were.
| ✓ | Entrepreneurs must find in mentors similar leadership and management qualities they themselves believe and follow |
This will result in a wonderful long term relationship greatly reducing ideological differences and paving a path of better understanding, planning and communication. Additionally, the mentor chosen must also match the entrepreneur’s standards of values, integrity and commitment.
| ✓ | Mentors must be challenging |
No entrepreneur can be successful if he chooses a mentor who can never call a spade a spade. Mentors must be challenging enough to ignite the entrepreneur’s skill to think and innovate all the time. Many entrepreneurs shy away from such mentors imagining that they are a deterrent to their growth. Instead, the truth is, such mentors tend to fuel the growth of the venture and not retard it by making entrepreneurs consistently move out of their ‘comfort zones’ – a natural precinct to be in when all seems right.
| ✓ | Finally, a mentor’s professional strengths must fill the gap of the entrepreneur’s professional weaknesses |
This can never be over emphasized no matter how much is said about it. Every entrepreneur has his or her own baggage of professional weaknesses. If the chosen mentor also has the same weaknesses it will well become a recipe for disaster. Entrepreneurs must explore mentors in depth, over several probing and ‘no holds barred’ meetings, before choosing them.
Please mention a few ‘To Do’s that ensures someone who has opted for a mentor gets maximum benefit out of this association?
Anand: Well, first there is transparency. Entrepreneurs and Mentors must enjoy a constant relationship of transparency. Every entrepreneur must make a mentor sign a Non Disclosure Agreement legally binding the mentor to avoid disclosures of critical information of the organization being mentored. This simple act will stimulate a relationship of transparency and comradeship from day one. In addition, the more transparent the entrepreneur is, the better the advice will he or she will receive from the mentor.
Then comes trusting the Mentor’s professional instincts and experience: A mentor can become an entrepreneur’s biggest asset if his or her professional instincts and experience are trusted without an iota of doubt. As emphasized earlier, a mentor comes with a single passion to ensure the entrepreneur’s success. This is a true fact and must be accepted in every sense. The mentor’s successful track record depends entirely on how successfully he or she crafts a winning end to the entrepreneur’s venture. After all, the mentor is himself or herself a business entity and the failure of his or her mentoring could well reflect on his or her own identity as a successful mentor.
Thirdly, create an evolving and involving relationship: Mentors need as much motivation as entrepreneurs do. And nothing motivates a mentor more than the feeling of a freedom of evolving and being involved with the entrepreneur’s dreams and visions. After all, both the mentor and the entrepreneur are not two separate individuals chasing dreams and visions diverse from each other. Keep the unity alive at all times.
And finally, it is human to err: Both the mentor and the entrepreneur are liable to make wrong decisions, individually or together. It doesn’t mean that the mentor or the relationship is a failure. It just requires both individuals to take stock, make necessary amendments and move on, keeping the resilience alive!