Business Karma
Welcome to the ninety-seventh edition of “In-Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.
Story of the Week: “Business Karma”
On a recent trip to Sydney, Australia to speak at the NATCON 2024 conference, organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), I encountered a simple but profound truth about success in business.
Shortly before I took the stage for my keynote address, a panel was discussing the fact that Irfan Razack, Chairman and Managing Director of the highly successful Prestige Group in India, consistently sold all his properties off-plan, before a single brick had been laid. How did he do it, the panel of real estate experts wondered: Was it his pricing strategy? Prime locations? Branding? The moderator of the panel discussion asked him directly: “What’s your secret?”
Everyone doubtless expected to hear a complex formula but his answer consisted of a single word: “Karma.”
Like you, I had heard this word used in a spiritual sense to describe the way the events that happen after someone’s actions may be considered as natural consequences of those actions, depending on whether they are good or bad. In some religions, karma means that what happens to you in your next life is based on what you do in this life. However, the developer explained that his definition of karma referred to the fact that his current success was built on what he and his team had done for their customers in the past. It was all about the promises they had made and kept: a demonstration of the satisfaction of previous customers, who had trusted him and his team and seen their investments grow. As a consequence, today, the quality of the company’s work, often exceeding expectations, speaks for itself. In essence, today’s success is a direct result of past actions. This karma is neither mystical nor religious but practical.
Hearing his explanation made me think about how so many businesses focus on beating their competitors but, as this developer explained, it’s not about being better than others; it’s about being better than you were yesterday. It’s about continually exceeding expectations, not just meeting them.
Later, as I was leaving my hotel for the airport, the porter loading my bags into the taxi left me with another thought that connected beautifully to this interpretation of karma. He said, “When you shift your focus from competition to contribution, life is a celebration.” That one sentence struck me. Karma, in its essence, is about contributing, by doing the right things for the right reasons.
When we contribute to the success and satisfaction of others, we build a reputation that brings success back to us, time and time again.
Words of Wisdom
“Never has there been a more exciting time for all of us to explore this next great frontier where the boundaries between work and higher purpose are merging into one, where doing good really is good for business.” Richard Branson
A Question to Ponder, dear friend.
In all honesty, does your business lean more towards competition or contribution?
