Led By A Lion - Manmohan Shetty
For Adlabs Chairman, Manmohan Shetty, that clients and customer satisfaction are topmost priorities underpins some of the experiences from a long span of 30 years that he shares with Nidhi Jain.
Lessons you learnt
The main thing that I feel personally is that customer satisfaction is very important for the growth of the industry. One should not compromise on any kind of service provided. In every area of business I worked in these past years, only good work is appreciated. Don't compromise on services. I will not compromise on any service and would not allow my company to do so.
I have been lucky in some ways. I have been working in the same company since the last 30 years and most of the people are still the same. After Reliance came in 2005 July, new people came in management. It has been a blessing in disguise for the company because with Reliance came a lot of money and Brand value and our visibility became larger.
It has helped us grow very fast since they came on board in 2005. Our perspective has also changed, all of which has added a lot values in the work of the company. I don't think of any competition as of now. In today's fierce competitive environment, if a job is done really well, then there will be no competition to face. Today, most people are trying to cut corners and make money. For us it is all about providing a good service; be it quality popcorn or quality parking, it's all about giving good service.
Chaos Theory
Well I haven't had any kind of chaos yet. We are all in the job of growing bigger and working faster because we all are under pressure.
People that influenced
I have seen people telling me that I am the role model but I have never seen myself like that and am not influenced by anyone personally. Because I have had very different kinds of growth in my personal life. I come from a very remote village and success did not happen to me overnight.
Strategies
If anyone is just specialized it limits the capacity to do something. We must look around to experiment or try new things. If someone has blinkers for 15 years, suddenly remove it then think there are so many other things one you can do. I think that is how we picked up in Cinema and other productions.
Even if I had opened a blinker earlier, there was always a restriction on funds. In July when Reliance came we innovated. So the vision was always there, only the right kind of strategy and input was required. But there is a limit as to when, what should be done. So we thought we should have the right people at the right time to implement the vision. We had money but we just required the right management. That's why we took a lot of time.
Changing rules
I don't think we have changed. Reform but don't change. Actually we are in a learning process.
Ensuring that your team delivers
We have targets. We have 4 - 5 divisions like production, distribution, multiplexes and so on. Each one is given a target based on their performances. How much investment we can do and what numbers they have to give. So we ensure that every quarter they come up with new targets and perform well. That delivers the cause.
Fun part of your business
I enjoy when we process a good film and if the results are good. I think I enjoy all my work. I am very happy the way I work and how it's going. A lot of people may not be as lucky as me.
I, Manmohan Shetty leader of today?
Leaders are chosen by someone else - my employees, my companies or the shareholders. I can't say that I am the king. How they define leadership is more important, whether I am a good leader, average or poor. As per performances I think we have grown all the time. I would not have grown well today if the market conditions were not good. There is no yardstick. I could have done it 5 years earlier maybe I would have never done it. So is it correct? I don't know?