We picked them one by one. Built them brick by brick. Just like the movie “Lagaan,” we collected them from every possible avenue. Finally, the team we dreamed of is a reality. A team we can be proud of.
Stuck in this lockdown, I recalled the day in the office, that has forced me to think how building the great team is so difficult.
It was a typical day. I was busy drawing up a plan for the next week. Jacob was preparing the monthly agenda. Nirmal was on a call. I could overhear him directing one of the hub managers of Mumbai about something. Suddenly the door opened, Joy came in with an I-card of a candidate and handed it over to Nirmal. Keeping the mobile on mute, he flipped the card and passed it on to Jacob. While Jacob was looking at the card, I could sense his uneasiness. He put the card to his nose and smelled it. Then he asked Joy to reject the candidate.
A few days later, Joy came back with the I-card of another candidate for the delivery boy position. Jacob called the candidate in and asked him his name. Again, I saw the same uneasiness in him. Jacob asked the candidate to wait outside. He then told Joy to reject him. There were numerous instances where I was unable to understand the logic behind Jacob’s selecting or rejecting a candidate, by asking just one or two questions. But whoever was hired on his recommendation turned out to be a great hire.
Finding Right People
I started thinking: how can someone be so good at this sort of judgement? I recalled when I used to shortlist the candidates for a delivery boy position from OLX, the majority of the candidates selected looked decent enough during the interview, but as soon they were on board, some of them started showing their dark side. They were politely asked to leave the company. It was a huge waste of time and money. I used to discuss this attrition of delivery boys with Jacob when he was manager of one of the cafes near our first office. I would be stumped by his deep insight into the human psyche and his judgement of any scenario. In my mind, he was a true leader, as he had completely transformed that cafe after he had joined. Yet he was polite and humble. We wished he could join our team someday.
And it happened suddenly. It was around 9 PM. I was planning to leave for home but was unable to book a cab. Jacob had noticed this. He offered me a ride on his bike. During the trip, he expressed his desire to move on in his career. As fate would have it, the offer was extended to him while we were still on the bike.
Most of our core team members of operations have been hired like this. Nirmal (one of our city managers) started working for us even before we sent him the offer letter. One day he came into our office with his twin brother (who was already employed with us). When we spoke to him, we realised that he had already been with his brother for the last couple of days, helping him install a machine. Being a twin, his coming into the office would/wouldn’t have raised eyebrows. However, we felt that we didn’t have any other option than to extend him the offer.
Joy (one of our current hub managers) has been with the company since its inception. He worked as a delivery boy for 12-15 months before “promoting himself” to hub manager because of his excellent track record (more details here). Abhiram (another city manager) came as an escort for one of the candidates for an interview. I had a casual talk with him after that candidate went inside the room. Abhiram was unemployed and was looking out for a job. Even though this short exchange was not his formal interview nor did he know who I was, he displayed boundless energy during the discussion. While other candidates were undergoing the formal process of the interview, I decided that I was going to hire this young man.
Palak worked with us a food vendor for one year before joining us. Another member of our team, Anand, worked as our van driver for more than four months, before we extended an offer to him. Despite being a computer graduate, he had had to be on wheels because of his unfortunate professional circumstances. Now, he is amazing us with his performance as a city manager. Jacob, Nirmal, Joy, Abhiram, Palak, Anand and many more make a formidable team: a vital team for our operations.
In 2007 Sir Richard Branson told a TED audience, “Companies are all about finding the right people, inspiring those people and drawing out the best in people.”
From the Book: Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo
Getting driven by them
On the downside, building this team was not as easy as it may seem. I would not discount the fact that we were lucky to get these superb performers as we grew, but we would not have achieved the make-up of this team had we been causal about identifying people and investing in them. We kept our eyes and ears open for any potential candidates fitting into our scheme of things. We devoted more than 50% of our time, enabling them to work at their full capacity. Now they are surprising us with their output.
I also observed that once this team became established and they built their own culture, the new members started adjusting to this new way of operating. They began drawing inspiration from each other. It is thanks to this culture that people at the lowest strata have the courage to voice their unfiltered opinion on any issue. It is thanks to this culture that they do not hesitate to show their disapproval, even to the co-founders. Truly, they have become a driving force for the organisation.
On the personal front, this team has created a powerful shell around us. They give us comfort and they give us the strength to take up any challenge. They give us confidence that we can accomplish any task with them around. At any point in time, something critical needs to be done in-ground, Joy is just a call away. Something needs to be implemented across the cities, Nirmal is just a chat away. And most importantly, in case we are worried about something that can hit us in future, Jacob is there to foresee and manoeuvre us through that. In those days (Non-Lockdown days !), when I got up in the morning, I didn’t go to the office to work but to meet these energetic people and learn from them, to get inspiration from them. This is the team to look for. A team to work for. Perhaps, a team to dream for.
References
Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
The One Minute Manager
[Joseph Murphy] The Power of your Subconscious Mind BY Joseph Murphy Paperback (Dec 2015)
The Goal – Special Edition
Footnote: “We” in this article, refers to Prerna Kalra (Co-Founder of Daalchini) and I. Real names have replaced by screen names for the obvious reason. Also I am part of Amazon affiliate and links given above are amazon affiliate links.
