(The team, from the left; Peter, Spencer, Susan, Me, and Stella)
The five of us were finally down to our
last week in India. We had interacted with so many people in different places.
Stella had been in Murdenhalli and Susan had been in Bangepalli. Spencer and I,
of course went to Thirthahalli as previously shared. The three towns had more
or less the same weather as Bangalore city, and all were in the state of
Karnataka.
Peter was in a world of his own, quite literally. He was in the town of Rathnagiri, which is in the state of Tamil Nadu. He travelled there by train and on alighting from the air-conditioned coach; he was hit by air heated to 40◦ Celsius. Much as I didn’t get to visit his centre, I certainly didn’t envy him. The man had a miserable time from the heat, and this was only made bearable by the wonderful people he found there (and of course air-conditioning).
Anyhow, we were all back to Bangalore for the last leg of our trip. We were staying at our now beloved Sai Renaissance hotel, and were commuting to the Ruralshores corporate office every morning by rickshaw (tuktuk). I had been surprised by the Thirthahalli centre manager riding to work on a motorbike. I was now amazed to note that most of the company bigwigs also rode to work (and this included the ladies who rode scooters).
We were fortunate to be around when there was a meeting of the Ruralshores board of directors, and were privileged to be invited to interact with them one on one. Each of us made a short presentation to them, and their interest in what we had to say was humbling. Their faces of concentration and nods of approval were encouraging. Their questions were incisive and their comments enlightening. It was the most enjoyable presentation I have ever made.
We had lunch together and this was a rather unique affair. It was in an open hall on the top floor of the small building. The only pieces of furniture were the tables on which the food was placed, so everybody served their own food, and ate standing – and mingling, cocktail party style. The difference with what I have observed in Kenyan companies’ board meetings was glaring. There were no five star hotel reservations, or an army of servants at their beck and call, yet this is a very respected and successful company.
On our second last day, we had a session with the Ruralshores CEO Mr. Murali. The set up was very informal. We took seats and set them out on the garden in front of the office. When Mr. Murali came out he didn’t want to use a chair. Instead, he opted to sit on the floor of the front porch. It struck me the way he was not insecure. He was a very accessible person and the session was possibly the best I had in India. He asked us to share what we were taking away with us. I said – and truthfully so – that my main observation from the whole visit was that all those I had interacted with, had humility and honesty of immense magnitude.
Mr. Murali told us that humility and honesty should always be a part of all we do. I said that I intended to teach all the people who work for me about the two virtues because I realized they are a big part of the reason Ruralshores is so successful. Mr. Murali told us that humility and honesty cannot be taught; it can only be demonstrated through practicing by oneself. If you are humble and honest in all your dealings, your clients will trust you and you don’t have to go looking for them to give you business. They will look for you. I didn’t catch his last words because I was already thinking to myself, “Are those two virtues of Humility and Honesty, not the missing ingredients in the average business strategy?”
