He is fifty-eight years old, rather short, bespectacled, with distinguished-looking silvery grey hair. He has spent over twenty-five years working for one of India’s most respected corporate houses. I have learned a lot from him. But you won’t find his name mentioned in business magazines and management tomes, and it is unlikely you would ever have heard of him. His name is Karunan and he used to work with me as my driver.
Sometimes, the biggest lessons in life come from very unlikely sources. As Karunan spoke to me one morning about his life and times, I thought young people would benefit from listening to what he had to say. Since Karunan will probably never be invited to deliver a convocation speech at a college or a keynote address at a sales conference, I thought it might be a good idea to share those lessons with you. Here, then, are five valuable life lessons from the man in the driver’s seat.
1. Getting a driving licence does not make you a driver. ‘I was eighteen when I got my licence,’ remembers Karunan. ‘But it was only after several months of driving a car that I actually learned to drive and became a real driver.’ The lesson here is that a licence is only a permit and not a certificate of authority. Just as an MBA is only a qualification, it does not make you a manager. It is only after you spend several years learning on the job that you truly qualify to call yourself a manager.
Many young people mistakenly believe that getting a degree signifies the end of their learning. Nothing could be further from the truth. A degree or a diploma—the licence—simply marks you out as someone qualified to learn from real-life experiences. It doesn’t make you an expert.
2. The real world is very different from a classroom. ‘At the driving school, I had learned to drive a car. But my first job required me to drive a little tempo,’ says Karunan. ‘The steering wheel was different, and so were the gears. I thought I had learned how to drive a vehicle but I couldn’t even get the tempo started.’ The world outside the classroom is a very different place. That’s as true for engineers and MBAs and accountants as it is for drivers. Get ready to get surprised. As practising managers, we come across these situations all the time. Just when you think you’ve mastered the art of driving a car, you get asked to drive a tempo. Life’s challenges always throw up something new, something different. We need to adapt and learn constantly.
3. Get your hands dirty. ‘I spent nights working as a cleaner. That’s when I learned all about the insides of an automobile. Knowing what’s under the bonnet has made me a better driver today.’ The brightest marketing professionals in the country will tell you that they learned their biggest lessons in the days they spent slogging in small towns selling soaps or colas or recharge cards for cell phones. There’s no other way. If you want to be successful, work hard, get your hands dirty and go beyond your specific role. I remember Vishesh Bhatia—a former boss and an outstanding leader—telling me a little story from early on in his career. He had qualified as a chartered accountant from the United Kingdom and just started work when he was sent out to a sales warehouse in a faraway location. He says he happily sat in that warehouse and made invoices late into the night at month-ends. And many years later, as the head of a large, successful business, he realized just how much those early lessons had helped. He knew exactly what happens in a sales location, how invoices are made, the challenges, the problems, the risks and the opportunities. Many young leaders think it’s not necessary for them to understand ‘how it works’. They mistakenly believe that their roles do not require them to understand the technology or the manufacturing process. Like Karunan, good drivers make sure they understand what’s inside their automobiles, what makes their products tick.
4. Initially, what you learn is more important than what you earn. ‘In my first job, the pay was bad but the boss was good,’ recalls Karunan. ‘He gave me opportunities to learn and make mistakes. I banged his tempo around quite a bit. While the dents were quickly repaired, the lessons I learned remain firmly etched in my mind.’ In the early part of your career don’t worry too much about the pay packet or the size of the organization. Make sure you get learning opportunities. Get a boss who is a good mentor. That’s priceless. When you get a chance to make those mistakes early in life, you learn lessons that stay with you forever. Also, you are then never too scared to fail. Don’t box yourself into an imaginary silo. Break out and learn all there is.
5. Don’t worry about which car you drive. Focus on being a good driver. ‘I always wanted to drive the best cars,’ recalls Karunan with almost child-like glee. ‘But rather than complain about having to drive a tempo or a school van or the city transport bus, I focused on driving well. I told myself that if I did that, the good cars would come. And they did.’ Now that’s a great lesson. It’s not about the company. It’s about you. Many young people are so busy complaining about the company they work for—or the job they have to do—that they don’t spend enough time focusing on doing their jobs well. Do the best with what you have, wherever you are. Karunan spent fifteen years struggling in odd jobs before landing a driver’s job in one of India’s largest companies. We could all benefit by staying focused on doing a great job rather than worrying about titles and promotions. Do a good job. Success and happiness will inevitably follow.
Getting a driving licence does not make you a driver. The licence simply marks you out as someone qualified to learn from real-life experiences. It doesn’t make you an expert.