Qawwali Singers ,Poetry ,Indian Black Fridays and Leadership Lessons

Post ideas come from the strangest places . This one for example . Yesterday ,travelling back with Rashmi Om from the Ashram , I had a really good time yapping about some of the interesting memories from my career . I was sharing with her a sample of a poem I had written for one of my team members who was leading logistics operations for the north region . I had written 17 such poems ,for each one of my team members when I left my role as the north region replenishment and logistics leader in 2018 Dec . 4 years down the line some of them still call me up to tell me how unique and motivating  it was for them and how valued and special it made them feel .

Laughing over the silly poem took me back 8.5 years when I had just joined Hindustan Unilever . We had a supply chain conference in Goa and there was a Qawwali singer brought in for entertainment one evening . Dressed in full medieval costumes –complete with qawwali caps and Mughal styled headgears – with wine flowing like water – people listened in initially and applauded waah waah but soon got restless as the music was soulful but slow  .Sounds of chitter chatter soon became loud enough to annoy the qawwali singer . However ,instead of getting angry the qawwali singer used another tactic to pull attention. He started calling people from the audience – to join him on stage. He asked them their name and then composed and sang a couplet with their name in it qawwali style . The audience was instantly engaged and more and more people wanted their name in couplets so he was flooded with couplet requests – and the event was a big hit. The couplets – (he called it shayari; I thought it was nonsense ) – didn’t have any meaning or significance – it was just brute force rhyme. Sample this for example –

Khao makki ki roti aur saag ; (have cornflour roti and spinach)

Kutte ko dekh kar jao bhag    (run when you see a dog)

aapka naam hai Susmita Nag  ( your name is Susmita Nag)

The next morning at the breakfast table , people just couldn’t stop gushing over how talented and good the singer had been at composing . I was an introvert and very new to the team but after one point couldn’t contain myself any longer . I had a JK Rowling moment and burst out – “ But guys – all the shayari was nonsensical –  even I can do better”. Silence fell on the table as if aliens had arrived from Mars .

“Really?” , asked the colleague sitting next to me , in disbelief . “Show us !” He challenged . I took a few seconds to weave his name into a couplet with some meaning and he was very happy and clapped . Soon the others around me asked for rhymes with their names and in a few minutes the table was surrounded by eager audience . I was new to HUL, returning after a long  career break and used to find myself a misfit and quite lonely – until  this one instance – got me instant recognition and won me quite a few friends.

A couple of years later , I was managing the replenishment and logistics for our biggest organized retail customer in India- Future Group ( Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Easy Day ) Future Group was a pioneer in bringing Modern Organized retail to India . They had small and big stores (1000+) spanning the length and breadth of the country unlike other nascent players such as Reliance and others. Future Group was the only customer whose data counted for the market share reporting by analytics firm AC Nielsen and hence considered critical by my employer, HUL . Big Bazaar also brought to India the concept of retail Black Fridays ( Sabse Saste 5 din ) as they were called – which saw serpentine , kilometer long queues of people thronging the stores ( in the pre ecommerce era)because of the unbelievable deep discounts . The event had  10 X footfalls compared to normal promotions and heavy media advertising .

While the promotions were good – the backend infrastructure and finance position of Big Bazaar were really poor . (Their debt infact eventually made the chain sink and go bankrupt) . Hence coordinating supplies to the stores was a massive headache for me . The 2 such events during the year meant  atleast 4 months of sleepless effort . Detailed and rigorous planning was done to make stocks available , plan dispatches , beg the transporters to stay longer outside the warehouses when they were full, ensure that the promotions meant for Big Bazaar weren’t picked up by rival customers – Reliance etc . ( which were equally critical for the company business)

It consumed days and nights of my entire team as well as the supply planners. People postponed weddings and surgeries and burnt midnight oil for several weeks  to ensure these events were flawlessly executed . After the event got over , I used to give a chocolate box to each team member and stakeholders along with a personal note as a token of gratitude . The note expressed my sincere gratitude as a short poem or couplet with the person’s name woven in somewhere . The team was deeply touched the first time I did it and when the next Big Day came , they were already eagerly anticipating what I would write . They stood by me like a rock and went much beyond the call of duty to support .  Since then penning notes for the team during critical times became a habit for me .

As I left my role in the North India region in 2018 I penned 17 such poems for individuals – and that was the last time I wrote something for so many. Now I write sparingly given the work pressure, the size of the team I have and because I don’t want this to be standard practice but a surprise .

Reflecting back, I didn’t think too much about it then but realized its power and lessons much later My learning and reward from these was immense . I enjoyed writing in Hindi – and this gave me a chance to do so and get into the ‘flow’ state. That I could use this hobby to make someone feel special was a blessing .

•  It connected me personally to each one of my team members and made them feel as if they truly matter ( and they did). This was the first time anyone had done something like this for them ! I figured personal notes inspired people a lot more than standard leadership speeches for motivation.
• I also found that when people were motivated through a personal touch such as this one – they stood like a rock behind me and put in 200% effort . Even after I left the role– they kept in touch and always recollected how special they felt – which made me feel very special indeed.
• Recently in the global  organizational  sentiment surveys – some of my team members -left comments and note – on feeling valued because I had patiently listened to them and sincerely tried to understand . This is the very basic expectation from a manager but I figured wasn’t quite common as leaders at senior levels are pressed for time

To summarize – to make someone feel special is the best gift that one can give to anyone . And small and simple gestures such as personal notes , patiently listening to someone and giving a shoulder to cry on can be as  effective  if not more than grand events . When people feel special their commitment to you becomes personal and emotional – which helps any leader in delivering a great performance. Not just in the professional sphere  using these small gestures in personal life is as effective if not more when done sincerely . A one line summary would be – Small gestures make a HUGE difference ( when it comes to making people special )

PS: The gestures should always be authentic and sincere to make a difference . And don’t over do anything or it loses significance . Writing too many love letters makes them stale too :).