Kindle Notes & Highlights
He is a believer of legacy and had realised that no one outside his family knew of their story.
One quality of Kuldip is that he may take some time to decide on a course of action but once he does, there is no stopping him.
Not one scheduled meeting was cancelled and not once was he late even by five minutes for our meetings. He was open in his conversations and encouraged others to be open as well.
He spoke openly about his own shortcomings and was quite unapologetic about them.
‘I only spend time with people who are of use to me. I don’t have time to waste on frivolous matters,’
we can afford to pay the fees so let the scholarship go to someone who needs it more,’
All the Dhingras followed a policy set up by their father of letting professionals manage the businesses. The professionals were usually partners and were called ‘working partners’.
they could not take any liberties with Kuldip. ‘He was serious. Mazaak-mazook kam kar sakte the un ke saath! [We could not laugh and joke with him],’
my grandfather always had professionals working in the business,’ said Kuldip. The working partners managed the shops and business, enabling Kesar Singh to maintain a work–life balance.
‘My grandfather would buy property every time there was some money. All our shops were bought, the warehouses were bought and the houses were bought.’
As each of his sons attained adulthood, they would receive their share from the one hundred properties along with some money. Each son was told to go out and expand the business and to use the money judiciously.
entrepreneurship is a state of mind.
‘Everything can be negotiated
was money, business and property that caused the breakdown of relations between siblings.
When each son became an adult, Kesar Singh had given him a portion of his property and some money. By the time all six sons were in business, albeit in two groups, the bulk of the properties and business had all been divided. Relations remained cordial between all siblings and their families.
The patriarch had wanted each of his son to be running an independent business right from the start, and he gave his sons permission to go ahead and separate their businesses. He was, however, clear that interpersonal relations between the sons, their wives and children were to remain cordial.
The shareholding of each working partner was as high as 20–50 per cent in his respective business.
While the professionals were called the working partners, Kesar Singh and his sons were known as the owner partners. All investment into the business by way of purchase of shops, warehouses and other assets was done by the owner partners. The Dhingras were paid rent by the business for the properties used in the business. The working capital required for day-to-day operations, including stock and inventory, was also provided by the owner partners and interest was paid to them by the business for the funds loaned. The profits, after netting off all the costs, were shared between the working and
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Kesar Singh’s sons would come into their shops each day and work till the afternoon. After lunch, around late afternoon, they would go to the club and play tennis, squash or cards,’
‘The day-to-day business was run largely by the professionals and it prospered largely due to them,’
Jaspal Singh Sawhney, chairman, Eagle Group,
‘I don’t bother with small things
Gurbachan does not want to pay the caddie more than one hundred rupees,’ he laughed. ‘We all tease him about it. But he says it is phizool kharch [unnecessary expense] and he will not do it.’
He also had a ruthless streak when it came to business,’
He is ruthless about winning. However, winning at all costs does not mean using unfair means.
‘But I don’t play to lose. I only play to win,’
Even at a young age, Kuldip knew how to build loyal clients.
‘Kuldip is single-minded when it comes to pursuing his objective. There is no obstacle that can stop him’—
Kuldip came prepared for all the discussions,’
‘The man was manipulating me! He would deliberately say something, knowing that I would oppose him. He would then pull out the facts from his memory and prove me wrong. He would not do anything without being prepared. That was a trait of his. And he does this even today,’
‘I cannot tolerate unfairness,’ Kudip said. ‘I take risks but mostly they are calculated risks.
By any parameters cold calls generate very little sales. The market practice is that cold colds result in a mere 1 per cent sales conversion.
‘Our holidays are always about adventure and the outdoors. Horse riding, mo-bike riding, boating, mountain climbing—we do it all. Kuldip does not like being indoors’
Kuldip soon realized that the painters were the main influencers in the paint-buying decision.
Kuldip and Narendra started targeting the painter community to talk about Rajdoot Paints.
invite the painters to come to their ‘painters meet’ after working hours. Chai, samosa and other snacks were used as baits.
To overcome the resistance from the trade, Kuldip would give a ‘buy-back guarantee’ to all the traders. ‘We had confidence in our product so we would tell the trade that if there was the slightest problem from the contractors or the painters we will buy back the entire stock from them,’
He launched a deposit scheme for his dealers. Dealers could give money to the company as a deposit and earn FD rate plus 2 per cent on it. The same deposit was also deemed as a security and an equivalent amount of credit extended to the dealer to enable him to buy more paint from Rajdoot Paints. Further, at the end of the year Kuldip would give the dealer 1 per cent extra material on the net purchases of the dealer.
we had to do things according to the system and order. No hera-pheri,’
‘The cousins would go to a club and play there. But KS would not even look in the direction of the club.
“I don’t want you to be like those women who play cards every day,”
‘I would hold my meetings at Golf Links and would also invite clients at home. I provided them with good hospitality,’ said Kuldip. Calling the clients to Golf Links also sent out a subtle message that while Rajdoot may be a small brand, the family behind the brand was a khaandaani (aristocratic) one. ‘Yes, it was a marketing and image-building exercise.
‘This is one of his qualities. He takes time to analyse people and once he trusts them he does so blindly,’
Kuldip was an early riser
The Dhingras always preferred to hire professionals to run their business.
‘It showed me for the first time his mettle as a businessman. The amount of theft did not matter. The fact that someone had stolen the money was important and he needed to get to the bottom of it,’
business is done on the basis of personal rapport and trust.
Kuldip invited the delegations to his home for dinner. Meeta and Kuldip are both generous and gracious hosts and they used their hospitality skills to the maximum to start building a personal relationship with the officers of the company. Meeta was used to organizing business dinners even before Kuldip had started the exports business.
once he decided to achieve something he did whatever it took to achieve it.
It is often said that hard work alone is not enough for success. There needs to be dollops of luck as well.
