Bhujia Barons by Pavitra Kumar

BHUJIA BARONS - The Untold Story of How Haldiram Built a 5000 Crore Empire by Pavitra Kumar (2016), Penguin Portfolio, p 256.

It was sometime in February 2017 that I read about Haldiram becoming India's biggest snack maker with a turnover of over 4000 crore leaving aside Nestle Maggi, Domino's, McDonalds and many others. That was the time I wanted to read the genesis and evolution of this great Indian brand and that is when I came across this title - Bhujia Barons by Pavitra Kumar. The book got into my Kindle and has been waiting for its turn. Last week I started reading it and finished it in few long sittings. I must admire the ability of strong story telling style of Pavitra Kumar. She has been excellent in putting through this piece; her style of writing is literatic and engaging and at some places philosophical. Gathering information from different sources and validating it with the people involved in the process at different locations from Bikaner to Kolkata and from Nagpur to Delhi, she has shown impeccable commitment and has successfully put all the views from different corners. Her sense of professionalism in telling all sides and shades of the story without any bias has made this title worth reading.

Rome was not built in a day and so was Haldiram brand. Haldiram as we see today is result of efforts put up by people at hand for around 75 years. I have no hesitation in saying that it is the hard work of Ganga Bishen Agrawal aka Haldiram and his concern for customer service, knack for good taste, and belief in strong value system that has made this empire that we see today and which many of their tribe envy. A product that was once sold in newspaper cones, the process which was designed by Haldiram himself through a calculated mix of besan and moth dal sieving through handmade holes on a thin steel sheet, distribution mostly through shopfloor selling, and publicity mostly through word-of-mouth, some 70 years back has traveled a long distance in order to become a household name when it comes to bhujia. It would be no exaggeration to say that bhujia and Haldiram can never be separated from each other. Such is the power of the brand Haldiram.

The book provides a rich narrative of making of the brand Haldiram and traces its sound as well as weak links through the family feud, writings of media reports, comparing attitude and behavior of siblings and treatment by their parents and children. Ambition and apathy, respect and reactions, indulgences and impunities, are all have been part of the growing of Bhujia Barons as Pavitra calls them. In the time when the government is emphasizing on Make-in-India through its policy framework, I think Haldiram’s make a strong case of backing that as apart from responding to the locale, they have spread their wings in other parts of the globe as well. They are promoting Indian taste to the people abroad whether they form part of Indian diaspora or otherwise.

The expansion of this brand from merely a bhujia maker to branded, formalized structure of sweet shops and retail chain of vegetarian restaurants or QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants), responding to all kinds of tastes is the strength that the promoters have built through their concerted efforts at different geographies in India. Till their entry to Delhi, the capital city of India, it seems there were not much issues related to the use of brand among the cousins. But as they say, Delhi has a strong division power, when brothers Shiv Kishen (Nagpur) and Manoharlal (Bikaner) [grandsons of Haldiram] plunged into exploring the opportunity in Delhi. This territorial expansion also lured their cousins who were operating out of Kolkata which has brought the families to court for settling issues over use of brand. Though there seems to be some sky-clearing, yet the matter is not fully resolved and the families are not in that kind of relation as used to be.

Pavitra has explicitly narrated the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s death on 31st Oct 1984 and its effect on Chandni Chowk workshop of Haldirams and that is how the book starts which I thought makes a good plot to a storyteller who weaves together the threads back and forth and serves a tapestry of family run business model. For a moment I got nostalgic about my college days when we had heard of assassination of the prime minister of India by her own security personnel. The whole story of Haldiram as narrated by the author makes me feel as if I am watching a Bollywood Hindi masala movie which portrays almost all kinds of moods and emotions, climax and a happy ending.

Today who does not know about Haldiram Bhujia, but very few know about their resilient journey. This book provides a good account of that journey. The book is divided in Six parts starting with introduction and family background, their movement to different places and the wrongdoings of Kolkata cousin (the black sheep), legal fights and the future ahead (final paces). It is a revelatory tale of a family business house which has built a reliable brand over the years. The author deserves appreciation for an excellent display of honest effort, professionalism and probity through this work. And I can't stop myself from saluting the spirit of great entrepreneurship, innovation and customer service as envisioned and portrayed by Ganga Bishen Agrawal. What a man he was. There is lot to learn from him for the entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow.

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also read:

THE MARWARIS: from Jagat Seth to the Birlas by Thomas A Timberg

Dabawalas: Lessons for building lasting success based on values

True Leaders by Price & Ritcheske

True Leaders by Price & Ritcheske

TRUE LEADERS - How Exceptional CEOs and Presidents Make a Difference by Building Poeple and Profits by Bette Price & George Ritcheske (2006) Corpus Collosum Learning Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, India. First Indian Edition: 2006 p 223

Can Leaders be made or they are only born? The debate over this issue has been finding place in the management literature in the last century. The genetic science has reasons to believe that it lies in ones genes how he/she is going to reflect on the work behaviour. However, it is also argued number of times that through education, training and pruning one could transform himself/herself into a successful and effective leader. The difference between effective and successful leaders, between effective and ineffective leader is also an issue which is getting importance in the literature as well as in practice.

This book on True Leaders is an eye opener for those who want to learn the secrets of successful and effective leaders. It addresses the issue of ‘born’ or ‘made’ debate in a very convincing manner. As the preface reads -

‘True Leaders is a blueprint for success in an era when a rapidly changing marketplace and an ever changing workforce require integrating human value with economic value to differentiate effective leaders from ineffective leader.

The book is an outcome of the interviews with 27 most successful business leaders in the US, coming from diverse group of industries, some held publicly and some privately, some led by men, some by women and some by minorities. These leaders operate with a background of core values which could be translated into good financial performance. These leaders demonstrate great deal of inherent love and caring for their people, which makes them True Leaders. The book includes the leaders like Garrett Boone, Chairman and Cofounder, The Container Store, Terri Bowersock, Founder, Terri’s Consign and Design Furnishings, John Bruck, Chairman and President, BHE Environmental, Inc, James Copeland, Jr, CEO, Deloitte & Touche, Debbie Gaby & Len Gaby, President & CEO, Sleep America, Ann Hambly, MD, Prudential Asset Resources, Frank Hennessey, CEO, MascoTech, Vicki Henry, CEO, Feedback Plus, Inc, Irv Hockaday, President and CEO, Hallmark Cards, Linda Huett, President and CEO, Weight Watchers International, Inc, Jack Kahl, Founder, Manco, Inc, Jack Lowe, CEO, TD Industries, Bill Matthews, Managing Partner, Plante & Moran, LLP, Mike McCarthy, Chairman, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc, Gary McDaniel, CEO, Chateau Communities, Inc, Gary Nelon, Chairman and CEO, First Texas Bancorp, Inc, James B Nicholson, President and CEO, PVS Chemicals, Inc, David Novak, Chairman and CEO, Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc, Dr Alvin Rohrs, CEO, SIFE, Len Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Radio Shack Corporation, Bruce Simpson, CEO, AppGenesys, Inc, Lou Smith, President and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kip Tindell, President and CEO and Cofounder, The Container Store, David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, US General Accounting Office, Tim Webster, President and CEO, American Italian Pasta Co, and Dan Woodward, Chairman and CEO, Enherent Corp.

The book contains 12 chapters and 5 Appendixes. The chapters start with Defining true leaders (chapter 1), considering passion as a prerequisite (chapter 2), See what is not yet visible (chapter 3), care enough to connect and convey (chapter 4), treat learning like dirty dishes (chapter 5), do what's right and tell the truth (chapter 6), trust is a must (chapter 7), recognize and build people (chapter 8), trust your intuition (chapter 9), risk to respond and grow (chapter 10), respect the importance of balance (chapter 11), and, so what? predictions for the future (chapter 12). The leaders who find their views expressed and their values conveyed to their people are effective leaders. After every chapter of the book there are certain questions to be explored and discovered which would certainly help the reader for practical purposes.

The book refers to Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) and draws a lot from their experience. SIFE clarifies its mission as: To provide college students the best opportunity to make a difference and to develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills through learning, practicing, and teaching the principles of free enterprise. It is a nonprofit collegiate organization in US. Appendix A provides a detailed perspective on the activities of which SIFE carries and their experiences. The book has a leadership evaluation tool as given by Dan Woodward in Appendix B. Appendix C illustrates ‘One-with-One Discussion Card’ used by TD Industries. This card facilitates the discussion between employees and supervisors. This practice is unique in its nature. A concise objective view of the whole book is reflected in Appendix D which consolidates the Attitudes and Values of all the 27 leaders included in the book. This appendix shows ‘the average true leaders attitudes and values graph’. Appendix E provides summarized information with the web addresses of all the companies included in this present work. For readers convenience an index (p 213-219) is provided towards the end of the book and the information about the authors is provided just to wind up the book.

The narratives used in the book make it interesting for the readers and the language used is very simple which is easy to follow and we can relate it with our immediate environment. ‘True leaders genuinely care about people. They feel a responsibility to create a work environment in which people are respected and recognized, and they allocate funds to ensure that their people are adequately trained.’(p 129) ‘It’s very easy to get into a trap of focusing on mistakes instead of looking for positive opportunities. If leaders can shift the emphasis to looking for the things people are doing that are right and for ways to reward doing the right thing by creating opportunities, they serve the organization better and go a long way toward building people.’(p 143) ‘Being committed, accountable, and responsible doesn’t necessarily translate to giving up the joys of personal life. Lou Smith says he loves being at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, but my life doesn’t end if I’m not here. I, and we as leaders, should not be consumed by the enterprise. We call it balancing life.’(p 169) And to top all this the authors strong belief is "You won't find passion as part of the curriculum at leading business schools, nor will it be listed as an elective. Yet in the real world of true leaders, passion plays an integral role." These are some important pieces I personally like, there are many such pieces which would add lot of value to the reader after going through this book.

This is a book which is useful for students, practitioners, teachers and a common man. There are many examples and events which occur in our own surroundings very often, this would certainly help the reader to relate and find out the ways in which he/she can deal with the issue.

I recommend this book, written in a very simple manner, easy to follow language, and rich in its academic content, to the students of management and teachers.

[published in Business Analyst. Vol 1, No 2 (New Series) Oct 06-March 07, New Delhi, India. Pp 141-144]