Being comes from Seeing
– Prakash Varmora, Chairman Emeritus, Varmora Group
Attended a hugely inspiring session on Wealth Creation by Mr. Prakash Varmora, Chairman Emeritus, Varmora Group at ILEAD on Friday 6 November 2020.
What follows are my Notes, Reflections and Take-homes that I wanted to share with my audience. Notes were taken with the intention to learn, understand and reflect on Mr. Varmora’s belief system.
Mr. Prakash Varmora is a well known name in the Ceramic Industry and one of the champions of the city of Morbi, Gujarat from where he hails.
This was the 2nd time that I had the opportunity to listen to him about his thoughts on Entrepreneurship, Co-Creation and through it Wealth Creation.
Following are my notes and the understanding that I got from attending that session.
On Strength
Mr. Varmora recommended to work on the following strengths which he believes is crucial for Success:
- Body Strength
- Mental Strength
- Financial Strength
Bodily Strength could be developed by doing a Physical Activity daily. You could go for a Gym, do Yoga or take a Run but you have to do it consistently.
Bodily Strength can be improved by taking care of our diet. Hence, it is crucial to eat healthy and also eat in moderation. I personally admire the Japanese Adage: Hara Hachi Bu (Ha-Ha-Bu) which says that we must stop eating when we are 80% full.
Mental Strength would come from practicing Meditation which would help you to have a better control over your emotions. Meditation is known to have a positive impact on the emotional make-up of a person so much so that the person becomes less reactive and more responsive.
To Improve Mental Strength, you must also focus on improving your knowledge of your subject matter in which you are doing business or job.
Improving Financial Strength is crucial as it is considered to be the barometer for happyness in the current society. To improve financial strength you must learn from others how they did.
There are multiple ways for anybody to improve financial strength, either by investing in different stock markets, businesses, real estate or creating multiple streams of incomes by leveraging your skills.
This framework of developing strength gives you overall confidence and boosts your Self-Esteem.
On Wealth Creation
Mr. Varmora believed that it is important to having IQ (Intelligence Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient) and SQ (Spiritual Quotient). Of the three, he considered Spiritual Quotient to be most important followed by Emotional Quotient and finally Intelligence Quotient.
For Example, Leaders like Narendra Modi might have higher Emotional Intelligence and hence could lead a battery of bright minds for guiding towards mosts difficult tasks.
But Narendra Modi is also a follower of HH Mahant Swami Maharaj, BAPS under whom more than 1100 Temples operate.
Real Wealth Creation would be possible by people who are having high EQ & SQ as opposed to IQ. They would be able to better manage a diverse team of people and drive company towards a common goal.
Mr. Varmora also believed that an Entrepreneurs objective is to do Wealth Creation. Wealth Creation, not just for himself, but for the employees, stakeholders, and for the Nation as a whole. According to him, Businesses should not be run on the ego of an individual but the sole aim should be to make profit without compromising on values.
He rated integrity, compassion (mutual respect & dignity) & happyness for all as a must for an organization to become value creator in the 21st century.
On Co-Creation
Co-Creation is the idea of coming together of different businesses with the objective to grow together. Co-Creation has been in practice for many centuries but not fashionable enough for founders to adopt it.
So What benefits does Co-Creation bring to the table? Co-Creation helps optimization of resources, effective utilization of Sales Teams and increases that rate at which a business captures the market. Co-creation requires the owners of different businesses to come together without any apprehension to think long term.
Mr. Varmora explained how he was able to achieve high growth in his Industry because of Co-creation. Mr. Varmore comes from the Ceramic Capital of India, Morbi.
Earlier Manufacturers would not allow others to come visit their premises and look at the technology. Owners would not want to have any kind of arrangement with other owners let along share resources.
Mr. Varmora started to invite people from different backgrounds who were having some kind of competency and made them partners. He focused on an arrangement that was Win-Win for all the stakeholders of the business.
Morbi is the 4th largest producer of Ceramic tiles in the world. Varmora Group is one of the biggest names in the Tiles and Bathware Vertical with 11 plants across India.
On Co-creation, Mr. Varmora suggested to learn from people who are already doing Co-creation. Mr. Varmora believes that “Being comes from Seeing” and that one must learn the art of Co-creation from somebody who has already done it.
Mr. Varmora also invited Leaders of the Commune of ILEAD to visit his plants in Morbi and understand how Co-creation is happening in Varmora Group.
End Note
It was wonderful to list to Mr. Varmora about his thoughts on Co-Creation and how can businesses chart their growth along with keeping the interests of their stakeholders.
Mr. Varmora expounded to think freely about growth without any restriction. He considered growth to be the primary driver of motivation and unless a business grows, it will soon wither away.
I was motivated to think how I can also create a Win-Win situation for my team at Starco Group.
Hoping that this article would have given you ample of ideas to reflect and work upon.
“Co-Create to Grow”
~RG~