In the initial days, you are just trying to apply whatever has been learnt in the two years of management education. Soon, you realise that many a thing that is learnt at B-school was taught with an asterix mark, signifying that the same is applicable only in ideal market conditions.

I was rejoining my family business after a two-year stint at Geneva Business School. I soon realised that ideal market conditions hardly exist and what you learn at B-school has to be adapted to the prevailing market conditions. Adaptation was thus a key factor that made me understand and look beyond on many aspects that are usually not taught in B-schools.

Being a people's man was one important aspect that I felt I had not been taught at B-school. With a workforce of more than 10,000 people, HR and personnel management lessons did come handy to an extent, but the realisation came soon enough that to manage a large diversified, multi-skilled and multi-locational workforce, what was important was to think like them; act like them - ultimately be one of them.

This results in empathy and appreciation for them. Only then could I drive a solution, that would create a balance between the management and the workers.

Being a popular democratic leader was something I picked up on the job. It helped me to understand the other part of business equally well and coupling it with my acquired skill sets at B-school, I could create a win-win situation for everyone. Being a people's man, I could lead them from the front and take charge of any situation.