LATENT: Part 2

Those of you who might be confused by the title of this post may want to check out this previous post which contains an explanation as well as an interesting story about the beginnings of Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

One finds many ways of motivating oneself....especially after bad scores. I have found mine; reading, watching, listening to people who dreamt and pulled off the impossible.

Our library has a website on the local server of which we can watch a number of educational movies. I went back to the videos listed under "Lessons in Excellence" (remember the program which used to be aired on CNBC TV 18?). I clicked on "Episode 5: The Three Stages of Competition. Companies featured: Reliance, Canon, Xerox".

Hidden within the 20 minute video was this interesting anecdote that the late Sumantra Ghoshal tells a spellbound audience of 2; Raghav Bahl and Gita Piramal.

Sumantra Ghoshal: You know, when we were writing that case on Reliance...the ex-chairman of one of the major public sector infrastructure banks...he told me a story. That bank had financed the very beginning of Reliance starting up. So, he said, "Dhirubhai came to me one day. At that time, Dhirubhai is (just) a polyester trader sitting in Bombay and he is a small little dealer. That's all that he has, his little office. In his diary, he had this little picture. The picture said at the bottom...(indicating a box) 'Textiles', then it goes up, 'Textile Intermediaries', then it goes up, 'Bulk Intermediaries', then it goes up, 'Refining', then it goes up 'Oil Exploration'....(looks up in amazement with a glint in his eye) Remember? He was working with Shell in Aden. Shell was an integrated oil company doing all of these things. Starting a six loom little factory in Naroda, the man had in his mind this whole empire that he wanted to build.